


Beautiful Nightmare

by MidnightField



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Boats and Ships, But only several characters are relevant lol, Gay, I'm going to try and not make this a meme, LGBT, Like this is a big ship, Mer!Mercy, Mermaid!Angela, Mermaids, Multi, Pirates, Rating May Change, Supernatural - Freeform, Tags May Change, There are other crew members that aren't important enough to give a name, There's a lot of sailing, Violence, ace!genji, i just added my new favourite ship ;)) thx brigitte & d.va, oh I forgot, sorry - Freeform, woah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-04-08 03:32:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14096268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightField/pseuds/MidnightField
Summary: The crew of the Falcon's Fury is thrown into disarray as some strange cargo is unveiled from the sea. With an underlying greed for power amongst other pirates, the crew manages to persuade their stubborn captain to hold the cargo until they figure what to do with it. Their cargo, however, doesn't seem to like the idea...





	1. Strange Cargo

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Some themes and rough plot points may seem similar to other stories, however, I was not aware of these stories until after writing this so please accept that there may be similarities to other AUs like this.
> 
> Hope you like it :)

It was the early hours of the morning. The salty air hung dryly in the ocean mist and the sun was barely colouring the waves, instead, the water below was a murky shade of grey that looked as uninviting as it sounded. Though the sky and water were desolate and quiet, that was a harsh antithesis of the commotion on a nearby ship. The large treasure of a ship ploughed through the waves like a hot knife through butter, its three intimidating masts varied in height but what each had in common was that striking black sail that flailed viciously in the southern winds. The decks were full of working men and women carrying crates, raising sails and steering the ship. Though elegant from a distance, the ship was practically a shouting match once close.

A man stood behind a woman at the wheel clad in a red jacket that fell down comfortably to just above his knees. His beard was a similar colour to the dark wooden planks that made up the quarterdeck and his hair that was the same hue as his beard was covered at the top by a more western hat⎯one that was much similar to that of a cowboy. His thumbs were shoved carelessly into the leather belt that held his black trousers up, from his mouth puffed a hefty looking cigar that must've cost more than the average man's.

"McCree!" A loud, brittle voice yelled from down on the main deck. The voice came from that of a woman. She looked about thirty, though the years had treated her well. She had mocha skin and black hair and was most definitely not of a normal captain's culture: not to mention that she was a woman.

"How many times have I told ye? Call me Jesse!" The man barked back with a devilish grin on his face, "but what is it, pumpkin?"

"You said we'd have found shore by now?" The woman grunted as she trudged up the stairs to the quarterdeck, "I thought you said we had the best navigator this crew would've ever seen?" The captain poked fun at the younger woman behind the wheel.

Before Jesse could've returned on the woman's behalf, she beat him to it, "And I thought you would've got that pole out your arse by now," that British accent perfectly executed the approach she was aiming for,

"Hm, seems like you still want your job. Thanks for the input, Oxton," the Captain smirked and placed her arms behind her back in a way of keeping her formality,

"Anyway, Fareeha," Jesse looked from the smaller woman to his captain before continuing, "Lena here saw the beginnings of a storm ahead of us when we were on the other course and she made the call to divert off the original journey. We should be docking in Hanamura in a couple days."

"Mhm... I see," the captain nodded thoughtfully, "and what do you propose to be done about our lack of supplies?"

"Oh, you know," Jesse waved his hand absentmindedly, "fish for food? It's not like we haven't done that before," he shrugged,

"I suppose," Fareeha scratched her chin, "I'll ask the two you brought on at our last stop in Australia to do so, they seem to have a lot of time to spare," she looked at him with a side glance and a subtle grunt as she mentioned those _"two"_.

"Good call," Jesse chuckled, picking up on the dislike his captain had for these two.

Fareeha groaned to herself as she turned her body to the lower deck, she cupped her mouth before shouting, “Jamison, Mako!”

”How ladylike,” Jesse laughed,

“These boots are killing me, I’m not walking down there,” she fired back. 

Down on the deck, a large man sporting only some trousers held up with rope and a much more skinny, almost rat-like young man hobbled up onto the quarterdeck. 

The skinnier one of the two had a worn-out pegleg and spiked hair that gave the illusion that it was burnt through the colours. His co-star was the complete opposite. He was a very large man with a rounded stomach but his strength was unmatchable. His face was a mess of scars and a patchy stubble adorned with his cloud-white hair. 

For some strange reason, Jesse had found it necessary to bring the two along: even when against the captain’s wishes. He saw potential in their contrasting builds and strong relationship, it was something the ship needed.

”Errr, yes miss?” The scrawniest of the two piped up with his thick, Aussie accent,

”I need you two to use the net to catch fish for the crew,” Fareeha kept her voice stern but informing in such a way that it wouldn’t make the two uncomfortable. That said, the larger man, Mako, had an unreadable expression on his worn features.

”That simple, eh? What’s in it for us?” Jamison crossed his arms like a stroppy toddler.

Fareeha lowered her brow and opened her mouth to remind the man that they were on _her_ ship and that they would follow orders regardless of a reward, however, Mako disregarded his friend’s comment and headed over to grab the net that had been carelessly dumped on the other side of the deck.

Jamison awkwardly averted his gaze and scuttled over to his burly friend with a couple snippets of muttering on his way. 

 “Well that was strange,” Fareeha huffed and looked expectingly to Jesse,

”Huh... they seem interesting,” Jesse stuck his hands on his hips and pretended not to hear the blandness in Fareeha’s voice.

On the other side of the deck, the two men were busily hoisting the net down the side of the ship and into the water.

It was seemingly a simple job that would require little distress. All they were doing was gathering fish and likely tossing rubbish back into the ocean: nothing too alarming.

Well. That was until their “fish” was about the size of them.

”Errr, Miss Captain?!” Jamison’s panicked voice caught the attention of Fareeha in seconds, even though she was in the middle of a conversation with Lena and Jesse.

”What is it, Jamison?” Fareeha slowly approached, her boots clicking against the wooden planks,

”I think we ‘ave a problem,” Jamison audibly gulped and it only just struck Fareeha that even Mako looked in distress,

”W-What?” Fareeha stuttered in an uncharacterised way.

Mako gestured his hand out in a, ‘step back,’ motion before he and Jamison heaved the visibly heavy net over the edge and onto the deck.

Thats when a loud hissing noise brought all eyes onto the net.

Under the ropes and amongst fish that were flopping about was a large creature that, if standing in full, would be well over five and a half feet. It’s upper body was seemingly human yet from the waist downwards was a fish tail. Each scale was a different shade of yellow and orange and they reflected in the rising sun like a gem. Upon their human half, the creature had striking blue eyes that resembled that of the ocean’s glistening waves and blond hair that was almost white. Their face was sculpted like a goddess’ and their body was a sight to behold. Their arms were holding the creature up in a sitting position while their tail wrapped beneath them almost like a makeshift chair. Before Fareeha could dwell on it any longer, the loud shouting of a crowd dragged her right out of her thoughts.

Almost two thirds of her crew had encircled the creature, each member seemingly trying their luck when it came to how close they could get. 

“This ‘ere be a mermaid,” one man gawked,

”Ain’t they lead crews to their deaths?” Another spoke and in response they received a lot of muttered agreements,

”What’re we to do with this ‘ere thing?” Upon that question, most eyes fell on the captain who was standing very still.

”Fareeha, I must say, a treasure like this must've never been seen by normal eyes before,” Jesse stood next to her but didn’t once take his eyes off the creature.

In Fareeha’s silence, a man decided to step a little closer which resulted in the creature springing round with the ability of a snake and hissing at the man.

”Everyone step away,” Fareeha calmly stated and the crew obliged.

She circled around to face the poor thing and crouched down right near their face. Jesse looked on with fear in his eyes and made eye contact to Lena.

Fareeha squinted into the creature’s eyes as a horrible hissing sound that was indescribable came from it’s throat, the captain seemed unaffected.

She reached a hand out but as quickly as she did the creature lunged forward, these horrific, knife-like teeth flashing for a second before crunching down.

But it did not bite Fareeha.

Its mouth was now tightly clamped around the shaft of a broom.

See, Fareeha was not an idiot: nor was she unskilled. The captain saw this coming and in the blink of an eye had grabbed a broom from another crew members hand in the milliseconds before impact.

”Heh... not fast enough, buddy,” Fareeha stood up straight and watched as the creature used its webbed hands to pry the broom from where it had been lodged in its teeth.

”Sweet Jesus...” Jesse muttered, wide eyed in utter shock.

”Someone throw it back,” Fareeha looked around the ground of crew, her eyelids low.

The people around her stared in silence before a man with spiked green hair spoke up, “I say we keep it,” his timid voice was out of character, however, under the burning eyes of his captain, he grew quiet.

”And why’s that, Genji?” Fareeha stiffened up back into her usual, more inviting self,

”Look at it,” Genji pointed, “imagine the research we could do?”

”Mhm..” Fareeha looked down at it before stepping back, “it’s a hazard,”

”It hasn’t hurt anyone,” he crossed his arms and gestured plainly to the creature,

”It’s an abomination?” Fareeha raised her voice. Strangely, the creature seemed to subtly scoot away from the shouting captain,

”Let me reason with you,” Genji brought his finger and thumb to his chin, “if you allow us to keep this... mermaid... on our ship to study, then imagine what we could discover. No man has ever captured one.”

That last statement seemed to push Fareeha. She looked down at the creature that seemed to be wheezing from not being in the water anymore and she weighed the pros and cons. The ship did have a tank, so it would hardly be an issue to keep it.

The whole crew was silent.

”Fine,” Fareeha grumbled and pinched the bridge of her nose, “just... get it out my sight?” 

“Got it!” Genji and several others rushed to action and gathered the mermaid in the net.

It began to emanate this horrific screeching noise as it thrashed about in the ropes. Fareeha looked on and felt a pang of pain in her chest. What was that? She didn’t want to explore.

She was about to turn back to Jesse until she heard a sudden cry of pain and her head snapped back to see three men thrashing about on the ground while Genji stared wide eyed at them.

”Go, go!” Fareeha urged as she jogged to the three men.

Genji and the other two men that were unscathed continued.

The captain looked down on the three men to see that all three had a similar looking wound to their forearms, a row of teeth punctures.

”The stories must be true...” Fareeha muttered disgustedly, “someone take these three to the medic?” She glanced back to the crowd still gathered.

God, this was going to be one hell of a ride. 


	2. An Old Man's Company

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to sloppy and tired part 2!
> 
> Yeah... I seem to write these at the worst times.
> 
> I apologise as, reading this back, the chapter is rather... stocky? I'm not sure how to describe it.
> 
> Anyway, enough of me putting myself down, let us get on with it!

In the bottom level of the ship, within the hold, is a different world. While the upper two decks are rather clean and well kept, the hold almost seems barren and is scrounging with rats. Crew members rarely come down and only to grab backup supplies or to check on the cargo. There were crates scattered within the limited space and barely any light got down this far. It was a mystery as to why anyone would want to stay down here.

The whole place screams abandonment, yet within these ghastly conditions lives one man. A man, who's only known for his gravely voice and chilling tone, chooses to stay in the darkness with the damp, salty air and rats for roommates. His appearance on the upper deck is rare and usually feared as the other crew decides to ignore or avoid him. That said, he is frequently seen converging in hearty conversation with the Captain: that baffles the crew. His name is not known amongst common men, however, he is referred to as⎯

"Wilhelm, are you down here?" Genji asked into the dark room as one hand held a dim lantern while the other gripped tightly to the mermaid's hissing being.

There was little to no noise, all that was audible was the sickly creak of the ship.

"If you are, don't be alarmed by this... uh... creature. We're just putting it into the tank," Genji wouldn't have been surprised if Wilhelm had made his way up, what, with all that commotion. The tall man glanced back to the two other crew members that were holding the arms and tail of the creature so tightly that it could barely even fidget without it getting gripped even tighter in return.

The mermaid found that it was just best to stay still and pray for some water soon. It's breaths had become sharp and more frequent as it was kept out of water for longer. It could stay out for a while, however, under all the stress and fear: it had used up that time quicker than it wanted.

The three men walked further into the hold and away from the safety of the stairs up. Genji lead them with his frigid lantern that buckled and shook with every step. Eventually, they reached an opening in the crates and chests to find a rather small tank that was used for living cargo. It was quite a rare occurrence, but it happened enough for Fareeha to see it necessary to bring one on board. The tank was about three meters in width and length and covered most of the back half of the deck. To the side of it was a crate about knee height that the three used to get a good shot at putting it in the tank, hassle-free.

Genji placed his lantern on the edge of the tank and reached up to shove the heavy grating up like a car hood so he could hold it up with one arm. Once finished, he instructed the men on a count of three to hoist the mermaid over and into the tank. The two other men, varying in size, looked at him with different replies: the more lean one blinked nervously while the rather broad one nodded enthusiastically.

"One... Two... Three⎯!" Genji used his one arm to aid the other two as the mermaid was hoisted over the top.

With quite a monumental splash from the awkward landing, the mermaid was finally inside.

"Good work, men," Genji brushed his hands together after having closed the tank, "now, don't you come down here unless Captain Amari tells you, we have no other orders regarding this creature. Back to work." 

The other two men scrambled to the other side of the hold and disappeared up the stairs with Genji following slowly behind. Though Genji wasn't one of the highest crew members, he wasn't the lowest either. In Fareeha's eyes, he was seen as a valuable asset. He was a man with an unmatchable agility and such a way with a cutlass: not to mention he was in his prime, at the ripe age of twenty-five. Truly, a real pirate.

Just like that, the show was over. Everyone had left, leaving this creature alone in the dim light of a lantern that had been left behind. The mermaid just floated for a moment in the small tank, staring blankly at the stairs at the other end of the room. It almost looked like something otherworldly with its golden hair flowing carelessly in the water and its yellow tail that reflected like a rainbow in the lantern's light. Such a beautiful wonder that was now locked away in the bottom of a ship.

"What a waste..." A voice came from within the hold, spooking the mermaid enough to turn to the sound, "ah, so you can hear..."

From the shadows came a man that appeared to be almost seven feet tall with light skin that glistened in the yellow beams. His left eye was full of wonder and discovery while the other was completely scarred and white. His hair was aged and grey and his beard was sharp and unkept. His head sat upon broad shoulders and arms that were packed with muscles, even though he didn't seem young. His aggressive appearance put the mermaid on edge. It peered cautiously at the man, it was unsure of whether he was a threat as all who had come into contact with the mermaid seemed to be.

"I'm not going to hurt you, you know," he scratched at the scruffy, white beard that covered his neck and chin, "my name is Reinhardt, I suppose you don't have a name in my tongue?"

Like assumed, there was no reply.

"What a peculiar thing," he walked right up to the tank and looked over the creature, but differently than everyone once had. His eyes were warm and saw it as a being and not a thing or animal, "I'd rather not check, but I'm going to assume you're a girl until you correct me if I'm wrong, is that fair?"

The mermaid just stared.

The gregarious man smiled, it had been so long since he had different company. Not that he disliked his conversations with Fareeha, but he longed to be accepted more within the crew. It wasn't a question of his age, more his shy demeanour. He was not one to launch himself into a conversation or be found within crowds: he preferred a more personal approach to friendships. After being accepted on the crew several ports ago, Fareeha and he seemed to click and that's why he'd been brought on voyages ever since. Though Fareeha knew he had a big heart, the crew just saw him as the muscle that would crush you if you ever stepped out of line. Oh, how wrong they were. After being outcast within his fellow crewmates, he decided to stay secluded down in the hold. He rarely came out, and usually, it was only when he went to talk to Fareeha or to unload cargo. It was such a lonely way of living, much like the mermaids in that current state.

"I bet they all think you're unintelligent and just some... animal, hm?" He placed his hand flat out on the glass, that seemed to peak the mermaids interest, "its strange how ignorant those men can be, we're probably more similar then they'll ever accept," he sighed thoughtfully and let his hand fall to his side.

The mermaid moved cautiously to the glass where Reinhardt was standing, it swam down to look at the man's hand before looking at its own.

"I suppose they didn't give you a name, huh?" He crouched down slowly as if he were approaching a skittish cat, "how about... Leah? That's rather common from where I come from."

The mermaid cocked its head to the side and had an unreadable expression with its lips pressed into a thin line.

"Okay, you didn't like that one," Reinhardt chuckled, "Clara? Emily?"

The same response.

"Let's see..." Reinhardt tapped his chin, "Angela? Name you after my godmother?"

The mermaid stiffened and its head moved back into place. Now it was seemingly pacing up and down the tank: still, Reinhardt was unsure if that was a yes or not.

"Well... that was a different response," he concluded, "Angela it is."

Suddenly, there were loud, frantic thuds coming from the stairs that were followed by quite an entrance. In marched Captain Amari with a lantern held high and a worrisome look on her face. Due to the rather loud entrance, the mermaid was spooked more than before and darted for one corner of the tank before attempted to make itself as small as possible.

"Oh, thank god you're alright," Fareeha quickly placed the lantern down and slid her red captain's coat off before resting it over a crate, "I see you've met our new crew member," she joked, approaching cautiously with her lantern,

"Yes... I have," Reinhardt scratched his chin, "I've named her Angela. She actually moved after I said that name," he looked back to the pacing creature,

"You've named it?" Fareeha shot Reinhardt a confused expression,

"Yes, _she_ can't just be called an, 'it' or 'creature,'" Reinhardt looked to his shorter companion to see her open her mouth to interject, "she's more than just an animal," he saw Fareeha's statement before she had time to say it.

The two were left in a strange silence that was not awkward nor comfortable. Fareeha was more confused, she was just so unsure of what to do with this creature. Fareeha contemplated whether she should just put it back in the ocean or kill it and see what she could get off the corpse while avoiding all dangers. She'd heard all the folktales and myths⎯ firstly, mermaids were _meant_ to be myths or legends so who knows what else could be out there. That thought terrified her.

"How are we going to feed _Angela,"_ Fareeha absentmindedly put emphasis on the name,

"Well, if she lived in the ocean then she most likely eats fish," Reinhardt shrugged,

"She might have a type or preference," Fareeha looked up to him,

"Yes, though she'll probably eat anything if she gets hungry enough," Reinhardt's brow lowered as a sudden thought crossed his mind, "I really hope you're not thinking of selling her," he turned to look at Fareeha.

The Captain stared onwards at the frightened animal continued to curl into itself at the bottom of the tank: she too wondered if she'd sell it or not.

"I'm still undecided," Fareeha rubbed at the back of her neck as a nervous habit.

Much like Fareeha's entrance, an unexpected patter of boots came from the stairs and the two turned to face the steps to see Jesse running down with one hand on his hat to keep it to his head and the other waving about to balance himself, as he got to the bottom of the stairs he slowed and even waved a little.

"Hey y'all, I apologise for breakin' up this moment but the guys need Reinhardt up on the gundeck, they can't move the cannonball crate again," Jesse gave a toothy smile,

"Again? 'Best of the best,' my ass," Reinhardt deadpanned to Fareeha, "see you soon, Captian," the man smiled before departing with Jesse.

That left Fareeha alone in the hold.

The lantern that Genji had left began to flicker out and forced Fareeha to bring her smaller one closer to the tank. Usually, the darkness wasn't this bad during the day, but that day had been particularly cloudy so there was limited daylight. Fareeha pushed a crate up against the tank and placed the lantern on it before she could really see the mermaid.

"Uhh... hello?" Fareeha cocked her head to the side, this was her first time even interacting with the thing, "my name is Fareeha... I'm the captain of this ship,"

The mermaid moved her tail up to reveal her face. God, those striking blue eyes seemed to pierce through Fareeha: even in the limited light.

"Wow..." Fareeha gasped and pressed her forehead to the glass along with her two hands, "you're... beautiful," she didn't hold back, after all, it probably couldn't even understand her.

The mermaid⎯ Angela didn't loosen up. Instead, she just stared soullessly at the captain and her hands: she was quite the mystery to Fareeha. Angela just looked with those blue orbs into chestnut ones: everything was so calm.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah I got so dizzy and exhausted by the end I'm unsure of whether it makes any sense??? By the way, I am fine. it's just 1:56 am and I haven't slept for over 17 hours yeahhhhhh
> 
> So uh... I'm gonna go sleep now. Enjoy the chapter and once again, sorry if it's sloppy
> 
> Love y'all xox


	3. The Woman In The Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During one of the most violent and stormy nights, a familiar face appears on deck for the first time in months. Then, some reconnecting follows.
> 
> (Or, Tracemaker shippers are about to be fed)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Inkheart inspired opening eyyy)
> 
> Boi I was bopping out to "Don't stop believin'" and "Don't go breaking my heart" you best believe I was bopping the fuck out.
> 
> // Lmao sorry if my French is wrong in this, feel free to correct me //
> 
> Je suis meilleur que jamais - I am better than ever  
> Mon dieu - My god
> 
> This chapter is substantially longer than the others at about 2600 words, that is because I'm back at school soon and I have no idea what my upload schedule will become xox

 

Rain fell throughout the night, a cold, lashing rain. Fareeha had to only close her eyes and wait to hear that familiar patter against the wood of the ship, even as she stood in the lowest deck, it was like a beat with no rhythm. On deck were few souls that dared to battle the blistering winds and monstrous waves, one of whom were that of Lúcio Correia dos Santos.

He was a dark, lean man that depended on his muscles to get him through the voyages. He adorned a worn, white tunic and loose, brown trousers that were held up with a thick rope, with his dreadlocks and calming demeanour, he was appointed to work in the crows nest. Fareeha saw potential in a man that'd be able to work under pressure and alert in such a way that it would placate the crew members through his manner.

Lúcio was a hit with Fareeha's men and a valuable asset, especially now as he gripped tightly to the edge of the crows nest, his knuckles lightening and his face dripping with rain. He was resilient, that's for sure. Helpful? Without a doubt. His keen and beady eyes scoured over the horizon that changed with the rising waves in search of an enemy ship or port: the latter being the prefered option. What was so unique about Lúcio was his ability to spot. Some would opt to use a telescope; Lúcio trusted his own two eyes more as he'd spend more time outlining every detail of every rock or nearby ship to determine whether to engage or not. He had the memory of an elephant and could remember almost every feature of someones face he had only glanced at. It was understandable as to why Fareeha gave him his job. 

"Lúcio, any chance of us getting out of this storm?" Lena shouted as loudly as her body would allow from the wheel,

"You're the navigator!" Lúcio remarked not once taking his eyes off the horizon,

"The compass is spinning, the map's completely soaked: I'm outta resources down here!" Lena swiped her brow with her already dripping sleeve, "is there anything out there?"

"Hang on," Lúcio placed a hand on his brow and attempted to see clearly without the rainwater clogging his vision in shrouds of hazy grey, "I'm not seeing anything, Oxton?"

"There has to be⎯" Lena struggled with the wheel as it began to verge left, "⎯somethin'?"

"Go get Captian Amari, she'll have an idea," Lúcio broke away from staring at the horizon to look down to Lena, her petite body was being thrashed about by the violent waves dragging the wheel and she couldn't stay still for a moment without being thrown the other way,

"No can do, this wheel needs someone on it. Besides, she's probably busy fuckin' that fish," Lena gestured awkwardly with one hand before quickly grabbing a handle.

Lúcio pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, he doubted the ship would be able to get through the whole storm and that wasn't even considering the risks an unknown port would bring if they needed repairs. Who knows what characters could be lurking in places like that.

"Hey, Lena, does the map hint at  _anything_ being around here?" Lúcio looked over the edge of the crows nest to his crewmate,

"It looked like there was an island North, but I don't even know which way we're going because of this stupid compass. I suppose we could..." Lena trailed off and looked to the deck,

"Lena what's..." Lúcio looked down to the deck and saw what had silenced his crewmate.

Walking across the deck was a face neither had seen for a while. It was a tall woman, wrapped tightly in the thickest of clothes. Her black hair had been released from the ponytail it was always kept in and her skin bore the same appearance of the white foam that frothed on the dark waves. Her shoes clicked against the wooden planks and her walk was that of someone confident.

"Amélie..." Lena breathed, "you're... back...?"

The woman disregarded the girl and continued to walk to the head of the ship. 

Amélie was a strange one. She was extremely quiet though she radiated wealth and hostility through her gazes and appearance. She'd rarely come up on deck and spent most of her time locked away in her room. Ever since the docking in Hanamura, she was a different woman; she was colder and introverted, Fareeha dared not to speak of the letter Amélie received while docked there, though whatever it said had made her become the shell of a woman she once was. As Lena remembered it, she was a witty woman: one that would entertain you in conversation, the crew would hang on her every word as she spoke fondly of her husband and their adventures that lead to the pirate life. Now she never left her room and would only be seen when the chef left food at her door and she'd open it quickly, grab her plate and shut it harshly. Lena noted that in those brief encounters, the wedding ring she used to wear with pride was no longer seen on her person, not since that night they left Hanamura.

Lena glanced up to Lúcio who only shrugged before giving her a knowing look. The Brazilian whistled sharply, gaining the attention of another crew member who was bailing water to go take hold of the wheel. Lena shot him a mouthed, "thank you," before handing her duties over.

Her and Amélie were rather close before the whole ordeal and would be seen chatting to one another and making light conversation when passing. When the two had breaks, they were inseparable. Though different in personality, they were the same at heart: loving. 

"Amélie?" Lena approached the woman who was standing at the edge of the ship head, her body facing out towards the rain as it lashed against her, "are you okay?"

"Je suis meilleur que jamais..." Even in French, Lena felt the response drip with sarcasm,

"Do you want to talk..?" Lena peeped and looked to the floor as she stood shoulder to shoulder with the cold woman,

"My husband died, Lena," Amélie stated as she stared out to the sea,

"Oh... I'm so sorr⎯"

"⎯Don't," Amélie warned,

"... Sorry," Lena gulped.

"I think I have finally moved on," Amélie said after a moment and crossed her arms loosely over her chest, "it just feels strange that I don't have anyone to go home to,"

"Heh... none of us do," Lena reminisced for a moment at her past in a loving household where she actually had a family, 

"I suppose we all have each other," Amélie moved her mouth to her cheek then back in thought, "I know you're going to say that's cheesy, but it is kind of true,"

"I wasn't going to say anything," Lena shivered for a moment, the freezing water that was seeping through her clothes had finally caught up to her.

The silence set in uncomfortably and even in the howling winds and hissing waves, it still felt too quiet. 

"You're cold."

"I know," Lena wrapped her arms across her chest, "nothing I can't handle though,"

"Lena," Amélie stated and the smaller girl turned her head to see the French woman with her arm outstretched and her coat open, "you'll freeze to death,"

"Amélie, I'm soaked."

"A little bit of water isn't going to bother me," Amélie smiled. She actually smiled, maybe for the first time in the whole voyage: how could Lena take that brief moment of happiness away?

"Fine," Lena grumbled, but she was rather content to nustle under the taller woman's arm,

"You're rather stubborn, did you know that?" Amélie looked down into the collar of her large coat to see Lena awkwardly moving to find room,

"So I've heard," Lena smirked, finally finding a place comfortable enough that it kept her modesty,

"I suppose its a good character trait out here on the waves in the pouring rain," Amélie wondered,

"And you're bad at talking," Lena looked up at the bottom of Amélie's chin through the coat collar,

"What can I say, English isn't my first language," Amélie shrugged but shot the shorter girl a comfortable smile,

"That's not what I meant," Lena adopted a serious tone,

"I know," Amélie sighed, "how are you meant to tell your best friend that you'd like to stay away from everyone until further notice without hurting her?"

"Like that."

"You know it wouldn't be that easy, it's only now that I've done it that you see it like that," Amélie lowered her eyelids in a deadpan expression,

"Suppose so... it's better telling her than just disappearing," Lena swiftly slipped out the comforts of the coat and stood next to Amélie again.

Once again, silence settled around uncomfortably and Lena was unsure whether to say anything. She decided not to as she felt it wasn't really her move to speak or apologise. Amélie just glanced to the girl with a look of remorse through her straight lips and lowered brows. Before any words could be shared, the Brit suddenly sneezed, alerting Amélie out of her thoughtful gaze.

"I know what you're going to say," Lena jumped in upon seeing Amélie's mouth open, "I'm sick and I should rest: I'm not going inside."

"Oh, I wasn't going to ask you to go inside," Amélie gestured with both her hands, "I wasn't going to give you a choice."

Without giving Lena a moment to dash away, Amélie scooped her up effortlessly in those strong arms of hers. That was from hours of lifting heavy crates that the boys couldn't do: "amateurs," she'd say as a rather large man couldn't lift one of the chests up.

  "Hey! What're you doing!?" Lena thrashed about in her arms, wanting to get back to her responsibilities,

"Someone is on the wheel, relax," Amélie rolled her eyes, "I'm taking you to get a new set of clothes and then to get you into bed,"

"No!" Lena squirmed violently and narrowly avoided bitch-slappingAmélie in the process,

"If you hit me, I'll throw you overboard."

That silence the rowdy Brit as she knew thatAmélie was probably serious.

Amélie began to walk through and into the crews quarters, past rows of bunks and even Lena's own one. She reached the end of the private rooms and let herself into the furthest one away using a key that was on her necklace. The door swung open to reveal quite a small room that housed what Amélie considered essential. There was a long, worn wooden chest that sat at the base of the bed that was verging on being a queens size and perpendicular to that was an old, rickety desk and chair in front of a porthole that was covered due to the weather. To the left of her bed sat quite a short bedside table with a golden candlestick burner placed delicately on the edge of it. Lena noticed that one the desk were scraps of ripped paper with flat, black writing that seemed to have been written hurriedly due to the way it was slanted. She noticed that some of the shreds of paper were burnt at the edges and the other use of that candlestick holder seemed to make sense.

Amélie staggered on inside of her room and placed Lena onto the bed, she looked her up and down but not in a menacing way: she seemed to have this sparkle to her eye as if there was a fire behind her cornea. 

"I believe I have some spare clothes," Amélie turned and fumbled with the chest, she was noticeably perturbed in her agitated movements,

"Oh, I can just go get some clothes from my bunk⎯"

"No, no. I insist, take my clothes," Amélie smiled,

"That's a bit forward, don't you think? Maybe take me on a date first... or..." 

"Why do I even put up with you," Amélie pinched the bridge of her nose, "Mon Dieu..."

"Sorry, love. Too easy," Lena smirked,

"Just⎯ take the clothes!" Amélie handed forward a white, linen tunic of the finest quality and matching trousers, they were likely bedclothes,

"Are you... going to stay or...?" Lena held bit her bottom lip,

"Oh," Amélie's cheeks visibly flushed, "I apologise! I'll just⎯ yes, wait, no. I'll go!" 

"Right..." Lena laughed nervously and took a moment to become relaxed as the door clicked behind Amélie.

 _That's rather strange,_  she thought, I mean, I wouldn't really care if she stayed.

Lena began to undress and toss her wet clothes to the side, she took great care in trying not to damage the clothes Amélie had given her as they looked to have cost quite a deal of money. The linen was as soft as the finest cotton and the trousers fit so nicely that she was tempted to try and steal them. Lena attempted to dry her hair by just rubbing her hands repeatedly over until the water dripped off, however, her attempts were rather futile. In a huff of defeat, she turned back to the door and opened it to invite Amélie back inside.

"It suits you," the French woman said, tapping her chin, "a gift, from me,"

"What? Amélie these probably cost a fortune!" Lena protested though these trousers were daringly tempting,

"Take them as a sign of our friendship," Amélie smiled though it faltered for a moment,

"If you insist," Lena shrugged and attempted to ignore the focus her mind had on Amélie's choice of words,

"So, I'll leave you be. Have a good rest," Amélie headed for the door,

"No, this is where I refuse to take your kindness. You should sleep in your own bed, Amélie," Lena sighed and grabbed the French woman's forearm to keep her in the room,

"It's probably been so long since you've slept alone without those pesky men and women waking you up at the most excruciating times in the morning, let me try it for once," Amélie smirked,

"No, no. You're sleeping in here," Lena insisted,

"Not unless you're sleeping in here," Amélie narrowed her eyes,

"Suppose we sleep together then," the words left Lena's mouth so quickly that she had no time to think over the consequences but before she could correct her mistakes, Amélie was straight in,

"Fine then," Amélie raised her brow.

Oh. That stumped the mouthy Brit for a moment. She couldn't let Amélie on to her sudden nerves so she just shrugged and pouted slightly to at least look as confident as she usually was. It seemed Amélie was buying it as she pulled off her soaking coat and hung it up on a knife that was acting as a coat hanger on the back of her door. Lena gulped as she slipped under the thin sheets of the bed and allowed Amélie to change into something else.

Before long she felt the sheets lift for a moment and the bed creak under the new found weight of another being. Lena shifted as far to the edge of the bed as possible and even hung her arm off the side as to allow Amélie as much room as she wanted.

"Why are you right at the edge? Do you dislike me that much?" Amélie teased but there was a certain weight in her voice that made Lena question whether she was serious or not,

"Hm? Oh, I thought you'd want some space," Lena shuffled back but froze as she felt a tender, caring arm latch over her waist,

"Unless you're against it, do you mind if we sleep like this?" Amélie's voice was rather quiet,

"No, not at all," Lena's voice wobbled for a moment,

"Goodnight, Lena," Amélie's words brushed against the back of Lena's ear,

"Goodnight, Amélie," Lena blinked and stared forward for a moment, waiting for the right time to allow herself to fall asleep.

Without her knowing, that time came pretty quickly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all don't mind me introducing some of the characters instead of focusing solely on plot, I just want to really nail the foundations before building on the story and taking it to different places. I promise that the plot will progress even just a little in the next chapter, I'd just like to start revealing some of the relationships and their dynamics first. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> (P.S I'm really trying to upload more often to this story than the rest as I see it has way more potential than my other stories, this one is a whole AU that has quite a huge world of possibilities to it so if you read my other stories and wonder why there is a lack of uploads, that's why. Also, I'm taking a slower pace on other projects as this story takes a lot of my time and effort due to the descriptions and complexity of each character, you may not see it yet but I'm trying to really establish a different view of the world and how it shapes them behind every notable face.)
> 
> Haha, lol, I didn't proof read- forgive me.


	4. An Old Man's Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reinhardt begins to open up to his new friend and Fareeha begins to study the mermaid in more detail before the two have a little game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sike bitches, school starts on Monday and its Sunday (lol its past midnight like always)
> 
> i'm actually not ready for school,,,,,, now i gotta hide my gay, throw my fanfictions into a drawer and do homework instead of writing this shit dg oisjdf ghsdiul fg
> 
> (God, my Grammarly had a moment trying to decipher the message above ^)
> 
> Okay, so you learn more about Reinhardt in here because he's my boy and I love him so I want him to be quite interesting, even if he's not a main character.

The new day was beginning with the clearing of dreary, grey storm clouds that dragged apart like a tear in fabric to reveal the crystal blue sky. The waves had since downsized since the blistering winds and shards of rain the night before and were now small folds of water that rose and fell as if the ocean was breathing. The sky was an open expanse of blue with the odd cirrus and altocumulus cloud breaking up the solid colour. Though the cloud was just yawning and awakening, the decks were alive with chatter and laughter.

Reinhardt, the huge, bulk of a man, had escaped from his dark dungeon on the lowest deck as he attempted to become more friendly with the crew. Of course, he had the watchful eye of Jesse setting him on the right track and deterring nasty comments. The American was standing tall on the quarterdeck with a rather dishevelled and bed-head looking Lena at the wheel,

"I never saw you at your bunk, _love,_ " Jesse mocked sarcastically, a smirk twitching at his lip, "care to explain?"

Lena only replied in a gruff, grumble and jerked her head to shoot the First Mate an icy glare.

"I mean... I never thought you were charming enough to score one of the lads on this here vessel, especially with that sailor's mouth of yours," Jesse raised a brow,

"Where's the _real_ Captain? I preferred her," Lena grumbled, avoiding the fact that Jesse assumed she was after some, "lad,"

"Oh, she's busy right now," Jesse chuckled, "leaving me in charge of you and this lot,"

"God, you annoy me," Lena narrowed her eyes forward, "ain't you meant to be looking over the big guy?"

"Oh."

Jesse stopped and quickly took a step forward to look over the white, wooden railing of the quarterdeck. His eyes scanned hurriedly to make sure that he was alright, however, he couldn't see him. 

"Lena, where is he?" Jesse rushed down the steps to the main deck,

"How should I know, Jess?" Lena shrugged, not once taking her hands off the wheel,

"Because you've been here since he came up!" Jesse shouted up, avoided the blame of losing a man as large as Reinhardt,

"What seems to be the trouble, McCree?" That familiar booming voice echoed from above,

"What..." Jesse looked up to see the silvery shine of Reinhardt's beard and hair coming from the crows nest, "... are you doing up there?!"

"Having a chat," Reinhardt replied and turned to the man in the crows nest, "He's rather rude, isn't he, Lúcio?"

"Extremely..." Lúcio rolled his eyes, "anyway, as you were saying?"

"Yes!" Reinhardt beamed, "so the two _'captains'_ of our ship⎯"

"⎯You had two captains?" Lúcio cocked his head to the side,

"Well... the two couldn't quite settle on parting with the title or killing each other, so they shared the role, Gabe and Jack were their names... two of the most difficult men to work with, I must say. The two started out as friends and I suspect more, however, after a rather loud and rough argument, Jack almost killed Gabe. That night, Jack ordered me to dump Gabe on the next island we came to, but I didn't have the heart. Instead, at the next island, I managed to attract the attention of another ship and escape with him. Then there's a messy rumour about the captain's daughter and I falling in love, even though she already had a kid, but I promise that it is only a rumour," Reinhardt winked and smirked, "after she and I stayed at the next port with her two-year-old daughter. The two were the most wonderful of artists, especially when her daughter reached about four and could actually hold a pencil properly. Obviously, she was no picasso, but she was quite something. Everything was going so well, it seemed that our life would calm,"

"Did it?" Lúcio urged, enthralled with the story, 

"If only..." Reinhardt looked down for a moment, "there was a fire after the port was attacked by a group of corrupt pirates killing their own kind of people, only the daughter and I made it," he paused, bringing a shaking hand to his mouth, "I then lost her at a market one day and I never found her. I promised to protect her and I couldn't do it..."

Reinhardt went silent for a moment before launching into a lighter mood, "after that day I vowed to protect the people I loved, and I've tried. Fareeha kindly picked me up from a tavern many years back when she was much younger. We seemed to click, what with her being an orphan and me having lost my daughter. It was a good dynamic really. I consider her my daughter really, so I've stuck with her ever since... then, that brings us to now..."

"Wow..." Lúcio breathed for what seemed the first time since the story resumed, "you are truly a man of wonder. A gem. I can't believe I haven't formally met you before?"

"Heh, I'm usually on the lowest deck and brought out when needed," Reinhardt shrugged those large shoulders as if him being locked away in the lowest deck was the most normal thing ever,

"How terrible. I wish you had come up earlier, I'd love to hear more of your stories," Lúcio was truly in awe,

"You'll be the first to really enjoy my stories," Reinhardt smiled, "I'd love to know more about you, Lúcio? Was it?"

"Yes, it is," Lúcio smiled,

"It's rather foreign compared to where I come from in Germany,"

"I'm Brazillian and it's a storm of events that lead to me getting here," Lúcio laughed,

"I'd love to hear," Reinhardt urged,

"It's a long story," Lúcio warned,

"I'm sure we have time," the older man smiled warmly,

"Alright..." Lúcio began.

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the belly of the ship where the wood creaked and the only noise was the ding of water droplets dripping through the planks. The lowest deck was truly a different world compared to the upper, more social decks. Though, as of recently, it was now a lot more lit up with lanterns, the rows of crates and chests cast great, looming shadows against the dark wall and the quiet muffle and moan of the sea due to the deck being below sea level left quite the chilling atmosphere when coming down alone.

Sitting amongst the crates and chests was the captain herself. Fareeha had taken off her jacket and was now sitting in a smart, white shirt with some unkept ruffles at the chest and the sleeves were pulled right up above her elbows to allow more comfortable movements. She was sat with her back on a crate and her legs outstretched leisurely in front of her, the tank sat right at the end of her feet with the shy mermaid nestled in the corner. This was Fareeha's second visit, she had brought a pencil that had a thick, metal barrel and large, pointed end and a stack of worn paper down to sketch the mermaid: but she wasn't cooperating. Angela was still in her ball on the floor, her head tucked away from any eyes that were watching: that included Fareeha.

"Did you know you have beautiful eyes..." Fareeha leaned back further on the crate and attempted to break the silence, "I suppose looks probably don't matter in the mermaid world."

As expected, she didn't get an answer in return. Just silence and the occasional twitch of Angela's tail.

"Can I please see your face?" Fareeha asked, bringing her knees up a little as she propped the paper on them, "I'd like to draw you."

The mermaid stirred for a moment: likely due to the annoying noise coming from a rather talkative Fareeha.

"I'll just stick to your tail as that seems to be the only thing you're showing," Fareeha nodded to herself and began to sketch, glancing up and down at the tail before she spoke again, "you really can't just move a little? You have to be rather bored."

This time, she did get a response. Angela reared her head up, her eyes barely open in quite a visibly angry and fed-up manner: she looked at the captain and hissed aggressively like a snake, revealing the row of sharp, bone-crunching teeth. Angela seemed utterly repulsed by the idea of moving and returned to her previous position but not before swishing her tail like a frustrated toddler.

Fareeha scowled at the creature and stood up, her paper and pencil in hand, before strutting round to the side Angela was tucked in and plonking herself down right by her. She was mere centimetres away, though the thin glass separated the two.

Like a true artist, Fareeha began once again with the same resilience for art that she had as a child. Her hand scribbled all over the page until she had most of the details done. She had drawn Angela in her ball position after failing to get the creature to cooperate, however, the drawing was turning out very well.

She soon reached the end and was touching up parts here and there but by this time, Angela had lifted her head curiously to see what the pirate was doing. Angela watched with an inquisitive sparkle in her eye as she watched how Fareeha effortlessly mended her mistakes and drew out the scales of her tail with such patience. Even as a creature, she envied her slightly.

"And done⎯ woah!" Fareeha looked up and was face to face with the creature.

Angela was floating in the water, her face looking out close to the bottom of the tank as she tried to get as close to the drawing as possible so she could see it. Her body and tail had since floated up a little and she was at a strange angle with her tail flicking every so often to keep her still. She saw no reason for Fareeha to be alarmed so she continued looking intrigued by the graphite sketch. Fareeha pointed two fingers to the mermaid's eyes and traced them to where she was looking: the drawing.

"Oh... do you like it?" Fareeha held it up and pressed it to the glass.

Angela just stared soullessly for several tense moments before her eyes blinked back to one with personality and she cocked her head to the side. Fareeha pulled the drawing back but still held it up.

"It's you," Fareeha pointed at Angela then the drawing, "it's a little scruffy, but I hope that it's alright," she shrugged.

The mermaid moved and let her tail fold beneath her to act as some sort of chair as she stared at Fareeha. The captain just tapped her fingers on her knees awkwardly and avoided Angela's piercing eyes, "so..."

It took Fareeha a moment to clock, however, Angela's hands began to tap on her tail in the place that she would've probably had knees if she were of the captain's species. Fareeha caught on to how she copied and just raised a hand up as a wave: Angela copied.

"Curious little thing, aren't you?" Fareeha realised it was rather ironic of her to call Angela small when she was obviously struggling slightly with the tank that could probably house large animals like the sunfish.

Fareeha continued and started using two hands to make strange gestures and signs and occasionally tapped her feet out of habit which Angela seemed intrigued by. Like all childish adults, she did one quite inappropriate gesture and even Angela wouldn't do that one. The mermaid seemed enthralled with the way Fareeha moved her legs. She couldn't take her eyes of of them.

"That's enough now... my arms are aching a little," Fareeha laughed and relaxed again.

Angela didn't seem to be finished. She swam up to the top of the tank and began headbutting the roof. Mildly at first, and Fareeha saw no concern, but she soon started bashing into it and that's when the Captain intervened.

"Okay, what is it?" Fareeha dragged a crate over and stood on it, she looked into the tank from the top and saw Angela begin to tap the metal grating, "you can't come out..."

Angela ignored and returned to the head bashing.

"Oh my⎯ you're gonna hurt yourself!" Fareeha sighed and Angela deadpanned, it was as if she understood her, "fine, fine. But if you jump out..." Fareeha warned.

She lifted the metal gate and took a step back. Angela was still for a moment before rushing back up, but instead of leaping out, she just leaned over the side, enough for her shoulders to be hanging over the edge and pointed.

Fareeha cocked her head to the side and looked at Angela's finger that looked to be pointing at the floor. The creature made a strange, alien noise that was much like a huff before slipping back into the water, her arms crossed.

"What is it?" Fareeha asked as she simultaneously closed the metal grating.

She looked down and it finally clocked. Her feet. Fareeha deadpanned to the mermaid who was looking at her expectedly, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Fareeha lifted her leg and took off one shoe then the other, tossing them aside. She did the same for the socks and when she finally got the last one off, Angela rushed to the bottom of the tank and pressed her face to the glass.

"Bet you've got one hell of a foot thing, hey?" Fareeha chuckled to herself and lifted a foot to allow Angela to really see it. 

This wasn't quite the mermaid story Fareeha would brag about at a tavern, she realised.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah no proof read yey  
> -  
> Lmao y'all don't get to learn Lúcio's backstory yet... ;)
> 
> (pls someone be proud for frequent uploads ;((( i'm really trying. also, my wattpad fans of another fandom are suffering because i like AO3 more, sorry not sorry lol)


	5. An Accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its sunday again but now im actually awake properly  
> (lol i woke up at 12:30pm,,,,, i mean i deserve that for finishing the last chapter at 2:00am)
> 
> Y'ALL I GOT SCHOOL TOMORROW I WANT TO SCREAM BECAUSE THERE GO MY FREQUENT UPLOADS,,, THIS IS NOT A DRILL  
> (lmao just realised I've said "oh my uploads wont be very frequent so heres a chapter!" like three times but this time im serious lol)  
> // babes i will try and keep a sort of weekly or every fortnite (NOT THE GAME) //

The time passed slowly with Fareeha and Angela interacting in strange manners, with gestures and curiosity. Angela was rather insistent on Fareeha pulled her trousers down so she could see her legs, however, the captain was understandably against that. Soon Fareeha realised she'd have to start facing her captain duties that she had so honourably neglected, so she headed up the stairs onto the main deck with all the chatter and activity.  

As soon as she stepped foot onto the deck, Jesse came prancing up to her with quite an evil smirk on his face. Fareeha dreaded whatever was coming as that expression usually meant drama and when you're miles away from land and there's, "drama," on a tiny ship, you're not quite over the moon.

"Have I got news for you," Jesse giggled like a pubescent teenager,

"Oh dear..." Fareeha stopped moving and deadpanned straight forward,

"So," Jesse began, taking a place next to the captain, "Amélie⎯"

"⎯if you're telling me she finally tried to kill and that we should throw her overboard, its a no,"

"Well that was awfully specific, but no," Jesse regained his excitement, "firstly, she finally came out her room, according to Lúcio, but its what I heard from one of the younger crew members that really struck me,"

"What is this even about? Get to the point," Fareeha groaned, crossing her arms over her lower chest,

"Lena was seen scurrying out of  Amélie's room at around five this morning," Jesse wiggled his eyebrows,

"So?" Fareeha raised a brow, "they're both people,"

"Since when did you become so moral all of a sudden," Jesse narrowed his eyes, "you'd usually find this exciting,"

"Mhm, I suppose I would," Fareeha sighed, "I'm not because of what happened to Amélie⎯"

"⎯Which you still haven't told me about,"

"I believe she's just trying to adjust again, even if it is rather forward... even for Lena," Fareeha nodded to herself,

"Wise words, captain," Jesse chuckled, 

"Anyway, tell me about the set-up today," Fareeha looked out onto the deck,

"Well," Jesse began, "because you were too busy doing... whatever, I had to just throw people around to go do jobs that I saw were fitting enough for their ability,"

"Good," Fareeha paused, "you didn't put the two of those girls together, did you?"

"Who?"

"The mechanic and the inventor?" Fareeha lowered her eyelids in annoyance,

"Oh..." Jesse blinked, "you know... I might've...?"

"Jesse," Fareeha narrowed her eyes, "you know why we keep them apart during working hours, don't you?"

"Because they're..."

"Talkative?" Fareeha facepalmed, "where are they?"

Jesse just pointed to the head of the ship and Fareeha turned on her heel and already saw the two, she immediately began walking over.

Meanwhile, a rather tall girl with long, auburn hair that flowed down her back with several curls and waves stood with her arms propped on the edge of the ship as she looked off at the open sea. Her body was well-built and quite large with her broad shoulders and ripples of back muscle that sat upon two stocky thighs and calves, she obviously worked out  _a lot_. Her face was a splash of freckles and different shades of pink with her well-kept skin seemingly glowing under the scorching sun. Her eyes were soft and inviting in the way she blinked slowly and due to the warm chestnut hue they had. While her hands were splattered with spots of dirt, she seemed to suit the scruffy, unclean look effortlessly.

To her right was another girl almost half her height. She too had long hair, though it was dark in appearance and more accustomed to shining in the light. Though inferior strength-wise to her co-star, she made up for it through her size allowing her better agility. Upon her face was a feeble smile that had probably lingered from a previous conversation and a twinkle in her eye that had not been seen amongst the other crew members. She was truly a treasure in the way she sweetly swayed against the rushing breeze of the ocean.

The two stood in utter bliss with each other as their company and their occasional sighs of relief filling the silence, it felt as if the two were free from all their inner demons and responsibilities... that was until the captain stood suddenly between the two.

"Afternoon," Fareeha began,

"U-Uh captain!" The smaller one stammered and saluted as if she were in the army, 

"Greetings, Hana," the captain smiled, "and Brigitte," she turned to face the taller of the two, however, Fareeha was still taller than both of them

"Hej," she responded nonchalantly in her native tongue and stood up straight, facing the captain with a half smile,

"I see you two are up to your necks in work," Fareeha joked,

"We were having a break, that's all," Brigitte smile widened,

"A long one at that," Fareeha dipped her head into a half nod,

"Oh, I must ask, what did you two think about the room sharing offer?" Fareeha grinned,

"Captain!" Hana's face changed colours awfully quickly, "we're just friends!"

"Mhm hm," Fareeha nodded, "and are you two  _actually_  going to work?"

"Eventually I suppose," Brigitte shrugged with a smirk,

"I'll give you twenty-five minutes, but when its over: back to work," Fareeha grabbed Hana's shoulders motherly, "and Brigitte? Take good care of the young one,"

"I'll try my hardest," Brigitte nodded, but Hana continued to go all different shades, "don't  _you_  have work to do?"

"What is it about you people and wanting to  _keep_  your jobs?" Fareeha tutted as she turned to leave, "you two enjoy your break now, I'll be back soon to make sure you didn't take advantage of me,"

"Oh, I would never!" Brigitte remarked sarcastically,

"I'm sure you wouldn't..." Fareeha chuckled as she began walking down the deck but she didn't get far before she was disturbed again.

Out from the stairs of the ship came Jamison, the scrawny man who'd caught Angela in the first place. He was running and screaming with his arms waving frantically. Fareeha seemed confused at first, not hearing his shouts but it soon became apparent that something terrible had happened.

"Captain! Captain! Come quick!" Jamison yelled, his voice squeaking and scratching from his volume, he managed to attract every eye of every person,

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Fareeha began to move and followed Jamiosn's burning pace.

He ran down the stairs with Fareeha hot on his heels and through the decks until they finally reached the bottom one. The captain hadn't asked any questions and just looked at him fearfully as they finally began walking in the hull. Before Fareeha could see what had alarmed Jamison so much, a howl of agony came from further down, this pushed her to move faster.

Fareeha froze in place as she saw the scene before her. There was the tank with water all over the floor that seemed to be mixing with a thicker substance. To the right of the tank was the creature lying on its side with its back to the two, clutching itself. She took a step to go help the mermaid, but her foot hit something else.

That's when she looked down.

On the floor, in a tangle of blood, water and netting lay Genji. The man looked nothing like he had done before. His face was riddled with scratches and wounds while his right leg was completely disconnected from his body in a tear of flesh and muscle. There was something awfully strange about the whole thing, Fareeha noted, why the hell was the mermaid out the tank?

"I came down to check on 'im and well..." Jamison gestured his hands openly, "he said he was checkin' on it and then I heard him shoutin' and yellin'," Jamison panted,

"Go get the medic."

"Right, yeah," Jamison scrambled and brushed his hands on his trousers, 

 _"Now!"_  Fareeha yelled and Jamison scampered away in a huff of coughs and muttered apologies.

Now Fareeha could have a closer look. She crouched down then looked over and saw Genji's eyes were firmly shut, he'd likely passed out from blood loss, and his skin was a ghostly shade of white. She glanced down to his leg and regretted the decision instantly as she caught sight of the way his skin was now torn muscle and blood and it looked not too dissimilar to something you'd see hanging in butchers. She wasn't squeamish, though she did wince a little at the way Genji's disconnected leg was contorted inhumanely. While she scanned over his leg, she suddenly remembered the mermaid.

After standing up straight, Fareeha walked calmly over to the mermaid, keeping her distance rather far. Upon the sounds of footsteps, the mermaid turned to look at who was there and its expression dropped from one of pain to sheer fear.

"You mananged to hurt yourself too..." Fareeha grumbled looking over the creature with the least amount of pity she could muster.

The mermaid had both of its hands pressed firmly against their stomach and their tail was caked with blood as it curled around itself protectively. It tried to lift its head but only seemed to collapse further onto the wooden decks.

"Why did Genji have a net...?" Fareeha glanced to the mermaid then Genji, but before she could question further, Jamison came running in with a man behind him

"Tekhartha, I apologise for bringing you into this mess⎯"

"⎯ Do not apologise, captain. With all the protection and services you provide me, there is nothing I could do to repay you," he replied.

The man himself was a very tall, dark-skinned individual. His head was completely barren of hair apart from some sort of buzz cut and covering half his face was a very thick, black beard. He was rather young, about twenty or so, but he was so skilled in the medical department that he stood out among his peers, hence the reason for bringing him on board. His whole body was a plethora of tribal-esque tattoos that signified so many different things, to others, his origins and past are a complete mystery, however, he speaks of so many stories about his life that you'd never guess he was only twenty. 

Before long he busied himself with rags and buckets of water over Genji, he couldn't quite move him yet as he was sure he'd bleed out and all the effort of bringing his supplies down would go unneeded. Fareeha turned to Jamison once again, but this time with a much softer question.

"Do you know of anyone with knowledge of animals on board?" Fareeha asked, kicking the mermaid onto her side as she didn't enjoy its gaze being right by her fleshy legs,

"I ehh, I believe this mates brother knows a little?" Jamison replied with a number of twitches as he pointed to Genji,

"Oh, really? Could you get him for me?" Fareeha asked, turning back to the creature,

"Sure thing, cap," Jamison laughed nervously for a moment and got quite a strange look back, "sorry, it happens with nerves."

Fareeha nodded and just like before, the scrawny man scuttled off with an orchestra of psychotic laughs echoing back from him. Now she was left to look at this thing lying before her.

"I thought you were nice..." Fareeha began and caught the attention of Tekhartha momentarily, "I guess I was always right about you..." she nudged it with the tip of her boot and finally the creature opened its eyes.

They were hardly open, but that familiar blue came piercing through against the pale skin. Her eyes were watery and the lids were twitching under Fareeha's gaze. Though the captain was almost provoking her with her boot, the mermaid didn't attack or retaliate: likely due to being too weak. There was just this horrible rasping noise coming from the creature as it wheezed to breathe. Fareeha broke her stare on it and brought a shaky hand to her mouth, she cleared her throat and turned to take a few steps away. She needed a break.

"Are you alright captain?" Tekhartha asked, his voice muffled by the bit of fabric he was holding in his mouth.

Fareeha looked over to see Genji looking more recognisable. His leg had been wrapped in some cloth and put to the side and his skin was clean from the water Tekhartha had brought down. His right leg had been wrapped so well that apart from the red splodge of oozing blood that had stained the white, the blood had finally stopped. There was something so calming about Tekhartha. He was so peaceful and quiet as he worked in dire situations: Genji's life had been balanced on his shoulders, yet he seemed successful.

"Yes, I..." Fareeha pinched the bridge of her nose and felt a pounding headache coming on, "I don't understand,"

"What is there to not understand?" Tekhartha asked as he put the scraps of cloth into an empty bucket,

"This whole... mess," Fareeha sighed, "why was  _that_  out of it's tank and why did he have a net?"

"Hm... its a difficult one, I'll admit, his motives are less obvious," Tekhartha pondered, "there's no need to blame the mermaid, it was responding in the only way it knew how when it was being hurt?"

"Why would you say it was hurt?" Fareeha's head snapped around,

"Well, the men got the mermaid in the tank with little to no issues, apart from those men on deck, and she didn't attack," Tekhartha began, "think about what could make this different."

Before Fareeha could reply, the brother of Genji came tumbling into the room: his chest heaving from having run down. He looked quite different compared to Genji. Instead of his brother's signature green hair, he was dark-haired with a sharp beard and chiselled features. It'd be hard to pair the two as being related as they looked so different from one another.

"What... happened to my brother!" The man yelled and rushed over to Tekhartha,

"Hanzo, calm down, he's stable and doing quite well after what happened to him," Tekhartha offered calming words and a firm grip on the brother's shoulder as he turned him to face the captain, "we brought you down here for a different reason,"

"B-But... he... he," Hanzo stammered, his hands fidgetting,

"Thank you Tekhartha..." Fareeha began and the young medic nodded as he picked Genji up within his arms with Hanzo's gaze following the medic's every move, "Hanzo, I need your expertise..."

"I..." Hanzo regained his breath and took a moment to compose himself with calming breathing exercises, "yes... what can I do?" He seemed hesitant,

"You see, I'm not sure what happened, but the mermaid is in little position to move and I fear if we place it back into the tank, it won't make it," Fareeha rubbed the back of her neck,

"I'll..." he breathed, "I'll see what I can do."

Hanzo walked over with an obvious weight to his steps. His eyes wouldn't focus on one spot for too long and he refused to think about the liquid he was stepping in and who it belonged to. He crouched down over the mermaid and Fareeha freaked for a moment and opened her mouth to warn him, fearing he'd have the same fate, however, upon Hanzo's touch to the mermaid's side, it melted into it.

"This... hurt my brother...?" Hanzo looked up to Fareeha with a puzzled expression, "it seems so... how do I put this... docile?"

"I..." Fareeha began, "I have no idea what happened... whether this was an accident or it... hm..." she resumed her earlier position of pinching the bridge of her nose but a lot harder this time,

"Could you... hold her head in case she lunges as I'm sure this'll hurt," Hanzo asked as the mermaid visibly stiffened, from what though was debatable,

"Of course, yes," Fareeha replied and crouched down by the head of the mermaid. 

She placed one hand under its chin and held it firmly to prevent it from lurching up and the other on her cheek so she'd be close enough to slip quickly into a headlock if needed. Though the intent was violent, Angela didn't understand and proceeded to press into Fareeha's hand whenever something burned with pain: that was before Hanzo had even touched her.

"Okay, I'm going to have to see to her wounds so this'll hurt. Do you have a firm grip?" He asked, his eyes wide,

"Yep," Fareeha replied as she attempted not to look down to the creatures face.

Hanzo began to remove Angela's hands from the wound as he scanned over, the creature had done a reasonably good job and keeping the blood at bay; though her hands said another a story. The makeshift-vet reached for Tekhartha's left over supplies and used the little bits left to clean the mermaid up. With every ounce of pressure applied, she jolted under him but showed no aggression.

Something must've really hurt her to make her attack in the way she did.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was meant to be doing english homework whoops sorry miss bitch ass, i aint doing your work
> 
> *cough* anyone notice that Angela was being described as in "it" when Fareeha got down to the hull? *cough*


	6. Mysteries Uncovered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fareeha begins to uncover what the accident was and how it was caused. While she achieves most answers, one goes unanswered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school is so bad i actually want to cry
> 
> look its wednesday and if school didn't exist i wouldve got this out on monday or tuesday
> 
> NOT AT 22:51 ON A WEDNESDAY
> 
> anyway, enjoy

The sun began to set over the wobbly horizon with orange and purple cascading across the calm waves in the dimming light. The ship's lanterns were turned off upon the last day shift crew member heading off to bed and the first night shift one making an appearance. The ship was cast in a ghostly grey from the mist settling over the water and the lack of light, but the miles and miles of ocean in front of the ship proved that there would likely be no need for visibility. That said, that didn't stop someone from manning the wheel.

First on the night shift was Brigitte. As she stepped up onto the quarterdeck, she swiftly discovered she wasn't alone from the ghoul-like figure standing with their grip around the wheel's handles and their silhouette sticking out against the background. Stood there was the captain with her hair pulled up into a short ponytail and her old jacket having been replaced by an exquisite navy one adorned with golden buttons.

"Evening, captain," Brigitte greeted with that sweet warmth to her voice that could thaw the nips of cold coming from the southern breeze,

"Greetings, Brigitte," Fareeha acknowledged the younger woman, "I suppose I've taken your job, haven't I?"

"Ah, it's no problem," the auburn-haired individual shrugged, "long day?"

"Very."

"I'm not going to ask what that commotion was unless you're keen to share," Brigitte informed as she leaned against the railing that lined the quarterdeck, "I've been told that I'm a good listener,"

"By who?" Fareeha chuckled,

"Hana, of course," she joked,

"You love her, don't you?" The Egyptian glanced at Brigitte. Though they were separated by age, Fareeha saw herself as almost an older sister to the Swede woman,

"Mhm," Brigitte groaned, "nope,"

"Oh, and I believe that," she remarked sarcastically,

"What if she doesn't..." Brigitte sighed,

"You're blind," Fareeha facepalmed, "can't you see that the girl has fallen head over heels?"

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"Hm," Brigitte tapped her chin in thought, "when should I ask?"

"Whenever you're ready," the older woman replied,

"I-I'll just hold off for a while, wait⎯err⎯until I'm ready," Brigitte stammered and stalled, she was obviously uncomfortable at the thought of even daring to express her feelings,

"She's not going to wait forever, you know?" Fareeha sighed, glancing over once again,

"I suppose..." Brigitte winced, "I just need a little bit more time,"

"Don't let her slip out your grip, Brigitte. When the time is right, go for it and don't let your nerves hold you back. Nature isn't going to do it for you, we're on a boat. Not a romantic walk in the park."

"Fair..." Brigitte sighed, "hey, where do you get these ideas and advice?"

"Oh, just off the top of my head... right around that common sense area," Fareeha joked,

"Hey!" Brigitte punched her shoulder and pouted, "have you ever been in love, captain?"

"Mhm," Fareeha hummed, "I don't think so,"

"Oh, come on! I'm sure you have," Brigitte urged,

"Nope, not once," the Egyptian replied with less hesitation,

"I highly doubt that..." Brigitte tapped her lip, "you've had to have dated someone. I refuse to believe you're a virgin,"

"Brigitte!" Fareeha grew rather flustered, "that's rather forward!"

The Swede raised a brow.

"And for clarification," Fareeha began with a huff, "no, I am not a virgin,"

"Oooh! Who's the lucky guy?" Brigitte giggled but Fareeha's blood ran cold,

"Errr⎯" Fareeha gulped, "l-lucky girl,"

"Oh...?" Brigitte cocked her head to the side,

"So, um..." the Egyptian averted her eyes. Obviously, Brigitte wasn't homophobic, it was just that that information had never truly been addressed, "just... some girl I used to know,"

"Ah..." Brigitte paused, "mind if I start my shift?"

"Oh, yes of course! I apologise," Fareeha chuckled and handed the wheel over, "hey, and Brigitte?"

"Hm?"

"Go get Hana, okay?" Fareeha advised, sticking her hands into her pockets and heading down to the deck,

"Oh-! Uh, yeah! Alright..." Brigitte audibly gulped,

"I'll see you tomorrow," Fareeha grinned,

"G'night, captain," Brigitte mock saluted.

As Fareeha escaped below the decks, out of sight, she toyed with the idea of visiting Genji. From her last update, he was still out cold and Tekhartha was unsure if he'd awaken until the voyage was over. The idea scared Fareeha, having a crew member in such a state for so long. Tekhartha had said he'd need to stock up on supplies to at least attempt to heal Genji and get him on the road to recovery, however, the next port was miles away. Before truly coming out of her thoughts, Fareeha found herself pushing open the wooden door to the medical bay and seeing the utter shambles it was in after today. Every single piece of equipment that could've remotely been of use was stripped from the place it had likely been once stowed neatly. The limited bedding that was already stained, was a canvas of blood and pus with the only hope for cleaning them being dipping them in water and hanging them up to dry. Maybe the medical bay could do with an upgrade, Fareeha wondered.

"Ah! There you are, captain," Tekhartha beamed, his usual look of tranquillity being replaced with genuine happiness to see his friend, 

"How is he?" Fareeha asked, getting straight to the point,

"Healing," Tekhartha hummed, "I've cleaned up the leg as best I could and now we can have a better look,"

"So what can you tell me?" Fareeha took a seat on the makeshift chair that was actually just a barrel,

"As you can see, the skin lining the edge of the accidental amputation is not flared or ripped as they would likely be if attacked by the mermaid. Her teeth are rather jagged, yes? Correct me if I am wrong,"

"No, no. They are. So you're saying she couldn't have done this?" Fareeha urged,

"Unless there is a method of attack that defies the science behind her teeth's structure and shape, then no. She couldn't have," Tekhartha responded, ducking his head as he knew exactly what was coming next,

"Then what the hell happened?" Fareeha's voice raised in a mix of rage and confusion,

"Well..." Tekhartha tapped his knee that was bobbing up and down: a gesture Fareeha had never seen him do, "the cut was rather clean, like the... the slice of a sword," he gulped,

"You're saying someone _chopped_ off Genji's leg?" Fareeha narrowed her eyes,

"The evidence suggests so, yes," Tekhartha busied himself with adjusted the bandages along Genji's leg,

"Is that all you can tell me?" Fareeha rubbed her face and groaned at nothing in particular,

"No, but Hanzo has advised me that you go see him at once," Tekhartha nodded to himself as he tied the bandage tighter,

"Ah, right..." Fareeha stood up with a sigh,

"Tired, captain?"

"Exhausted."

* * *

As Fareeha continued on her journey of detective work, she wound up in a rather strange room. Hanzo was another crew member that was gifted a private suite. Different from the rest, his was a reward because of exceptional swordsmanship when he was faced with a difficult situation. At a port several summers ago, a tavern brawl broke out between the Falcon's Fury crew and a rival one. Hanzo was faced with staying and protecting his own fellow men or retreating to the safety of the ship. He decided to fight and protect and through his brave decision, he managed to save almost all the wounded.

Heroic story aside, what he did with that private room was rather astounding. Even in the limited space, he managed to make some sort of aquarium and animal sanctuary inside. There were extra tables that held small tanks of water that had likely been filled with a bucket on one of their voyages, but inside were small fish varying in colour. Some were vibrant and caught the eye of all who glanced while some were stealth masters, hiding within the rocks of the tank. Though the fish were all different from one another, Hanzo loved them all equally. He never knew where his animal-loving side came from, it just appeared one day and subtly shaped how he did things. Now his room was some sort of aquarium and animal hospital as he adopted birds that had hit the ship's sails when they were docked in ports.

"You never cease to amaze me, Hanzo, Fareeha stated, looking around at the bundles of life that were everywhere you look,

"My newest edition truly steals the show," Hanzo pointed gracefully to a side of the room that Fareeha had yet to look at. In a rather small tank that still took up one whole side of the wall was where the mermaid was being momentarily kept, "I was going to use this tank for some of the fish I was hoping to pick up in Japan but after we jetted off so quickly, I never had the chance."

Fareeha just stared and approached carefully, placing her hands flat on the glass as she looked. The tank was like a large box, it had a long side to it but quite a limited width, making it look like some sort of chest.

"I know it's small, she's not fit to swim until tomorrow so I wanted to make sure she wouldn't. I'm sorry if you dislike this treatment because I will admit, this tank is probably too small for her even in this state. It's all I had, sorry,"

"Don't apologise, Hanzo," Fareeha looked to him, "you did your best and that's all that matters."

Hanzo smiled momentarily before taking a serious tone, "so, did Tekhartha tell you what he discovered?"

"Sadly..." Fareeha sighed,

"Confusing, isn't it? Hopefully, I can clear some of it up now," Hanzo's eyes burned with a weight that unsettled Fareeha. She knew he was very serious about animals and their treatment so seeing him so subtly fired up made her fear the worst,

"Go on...?"

"So, it's highly likely that the mermaid didn't attack Genji. As I'm sure you've seen, she's as docile as a pet," Hanzo breathed in, "when I examined her body I found these strange puncture marks all along her stomach and arms, I'm sure when she's swimming well you'll see them. Then, across her stomach is a wound that matches the head of a rapier, I am lead to the conclusion that she was stabbed at some point during the incident. Why my brother had a net is still a mystery to me but I have theories,"

"Mhm... so do I," Fareeha rolled her eyes,

"I suspect ours are rather similar..." Hanzo narrowed his eyes, "I am lead to believe my brother attempted to take her out and when, or if, she got rather unsettled, he decided to show her who's boss if you see what I'm hinting at with that wound. Then, someone must've been down there and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine," not once had Fareeha ever seen such disgust in Hanzo's eyes. He was usually calm and contained in his opinions but his eyes were of such different nature at that second.

"An uncanny resemblance, I must say," Fareeha rubbed her chin, "who though?"

"Only Genji knows, or..." Hanzo glanced at the tank holding Angela, "hm, nevermind,"

"What is it?" Fareeha asked,

"Oh, it's nothing. I thought maybe Angela would know, but when we found her she was facing away from Genji's body so it's unlikely."

"Good point," Fareeha sighed,

"Perhaps we should take her back, allow her to wake up in a place that is more familiar than my mess of a room," Hanzo chuckled,

"I suppose that would be ideal," Fareeha chuckled.

Hanzo was the one who opened the tank before the two carefully grabbed the mermaid out from her tight prison. Since the incident, Angela had been out cold, much like Genji, and had only stirred during her time of rest. It was hardly a concern when the forces at play were considered. She hadn't eaten properly since the day she was captured and nobody knew how much blood she had lost from the accident. Fareeha subtly hoped that she had bitten Genji for what he had likely put her through, but she soon shook those thoughts away as she tried to just forget about it for now. The images of the gore she had to see kept flashing up whenever she faced it and until the time was right, she would forget it even happened.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kind of
> 
> a filler chapter
> 
> so hopefully i should have another more important chapter out soon??? though with my writing schedule being fucked over by school, it could be a while.
> 
> okay so im contemplating on the next chapter being this special event that ive literally planned since day one
> 
> (it'll probably just be a build up then a cliffhangar, sorry not sorry)
> 
> anyway, good night!


	7. Pliability At Its Finest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse and Fareeha address two real problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half of this was written after I finished my English assessment at 9:30pm and let me just say,,,,
> 
> I AM DRAINED
> 
> WHY IS IT SO HARD TO ANALYSE THE SIGN OF FOUR AND WHY ALTHENY JONES IS S T U P I D

Even after such a stressful few days, the world didn't seem to shift in the slightest. Several days had passed since the accident as it kept being referred to, with the sun setting within the blankets of orange and gold and rising in the same ambience. The crew had all occupied themselves in different ways.

Lena had found herself referring back to an old hobby of hers, she began to track the phases of the moon and the constellations above. She'd draw rough sketches of what the moon looked like on that night and if cloudy, she'd predict from the night before. Her unseen yet extensive knowledge of constellations made the task easy and she'd map out the sky as she lay down in the crows nest, when it wasn't occupied that is. Other times she'd just lie down at the head of the ship.

Amélie, like usual, was rather closed off and difficult to talk to. On the surface, she seemed quiet and stand-offish with all who interacted with her. This was the case for all crew members but one: Lena. She had stuck with the bubbly girl and often sat with the Brit while she mapped out the stars. Amélie wasn't scared to ask questions or to even question Lena's judgement on what constellation she was mapping. It had become routine for Amélie to invite the Brit to stay in her room for the night, however, Lena usually refused but some nights she's persuaded.

Lúcio had grown closer to Reinhardt in the few days they'd formally known each other with the latter visiting the crows nest when possible. Apart from the social side of his life, Lúciohad dabbled in the invention world with his first prototype coming along nicely. He had the idea to allow a person to climb or run along a wall so he began scheming. His eventual conclusion was to attach these talon-like objects to a pair of shoes that could easily dig into wood while also allowing the user to run freely. After hours of diagrams and blacksmith-like jobs, he finally made some sort of prototype; though finding the time to experiment was rather tricky.

Reinhardt, as mentioned before, was rather social for the first time in a while. He didn't have to rely on Fareeha being his friend or Jesse and their almost forced conversations. While having a true friend was exciting, Fareeha had noted that the old man didn't seem himself all of a sudden. Reinhardt wouldn't come and greet Fareeha when she came down to the hull or when they crossed paths. The man seemed to distance himself more than usual as if he was afraid of something. It bothered the captain.

Hanzo had been extremely busy caring for the mermaid. He seemed rather excited when Fareeha delivered the news that he'd be her main source of care. He came down twice a day for about an hour and ran checks on her stomach wound. Angela seemed to cooperate efficiently and showed Hanzo every inch of her being that he'd want to see. Though, she wasn't too thrilled with the reality that Fareeha, at least at that moment in time, wouldn't be seeing her very often. After about two days, she began to worsen in her mood and only really lit up at the sight of Fareeha or when Hanzo brought in fresh fish that the Mako and Jamison had caught the night before. 

Genji had still not awakened, however, Tekhartha was keeping a keen eye on him. Every night, the young medic would read to the wounded man, even though he was sure he couldn't hear him. When questioned about his actions, Tekhartha would just respond that he wanted to feel like he wasn't alone during the hours upon hours he had to spend mending Genji. Also, he said it's nice to read out loud, even though it's likely to himself. 

To the dismay of Hana, Brigitte hadn't gone near the girl. Hana found it so strange, usually, they were inseparable but now they didn't even see one another on the ship. Hana would wait in the crews quarters, on her bunk, waiting for the familiar click of boot buckles, however, they never came. Brigitte was always late to come to her bunk and out as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon, while Hana opted to always have a lie-in.

Lastly, Jesse and Fareeha had been busy confined to the office most of the time with Fareeha requesting she has a break for an hour. The whole mess had seemed to build a wall between the two brutish characters with Jesse being more concerned with a person on the crew being guilty of hacking off Genji's leg and Fareeha seemingly being more worried that Genji had ill-intent with the precious cargo they had on board.

Now the two sat in utter silence, Fareeha's hands clasped on the velvet table cover of her desk and her head leaning on her thumbs. The room had only one real source of lighting, that being the huge window on the back wall behind Fareeha that's if you discount the conspicuous amount of unlit candles that became extremely useful when the sun went down. Jesse was pacing at the foot of the captain's desk, his thumbs stuck into his belt and his bottom lip being moved under his teeth.

"This is one shit-show," he stated, bringing a finger to scratch the stubble along his jaw, 

"Indeed it is," Fareeha moved to rub her temples with her index and middle finger,

"What do ye suppose we do?" Jesse crossed his arms casually,

"I'm more concerned as to what Genji was going to do," Fareeha moved to lean back in her chair,

"You've already told me that several times," Jesse lowered his eyelids, "suppose we crack down on him, that leaves someone who's willing to chop a mans leg off then slip back into society as if nothing happened on our ship,"

"Jesse, look at what we know," Fareeha deadpanned, "Genji was obviously tampering with the mermaid and someone decided to step in, they can't be that bad,"

"Good intentions or not, the amount of blood and torn muscles they woulda seen should shake a man," he spat, "have you never paid attention to our crew after there's any conflict? They can't look each other in the eye for a month,"

"I suppose..." the captain sighed,

"What proves that Genji made that mark on the creature? Coulda been that other guy tamperin' and Genji decided to step in. Ever think of that?"

"I have."

"What are yer thoughts?"

"How much do you know about Genji, Jesse?" Fareeha narrowed her eyes, putting the first mate into a feeling of uneasiness with the way her eyes bore into his,

"Errr, not much. You hired 'im," Jesse replied, stuffing his hands into his navy coat pockets,

"Right, right..." Fareeha's tone unsettled Jesse even further as she inhaled sharply, "were you ever aware of his ties to the Shimadas?"

"No...?" The first mate deflated momentarily,

"Hm, of course, you wouldn't," Fareeha swiftly continued, "he is Sojiro Shimada's son,"

"Oh..." Jesse's expression froze in time,

"Remeber that, that clan has almost sunk our ship twice and have quite the influence in the Sea of Japan⎯a highly important trade route of ours⎯so it was my quick decision to hire both of his sons to dissuade him from attacking us,"

"Yes... I do remember that" Jesse gulped, unsure of where this story was going,

"Let me tell you, Jesse," Fareeha smiled coldly, "Genji is quite the biologist, so who else would want to tamper with a creature that has rumours of leading ships to their watery graves, hm?"

"I see your point," Jesse hummed,

"I would hardly expect even the maddest of crew members, save Jamison, to ever tamper with that thing," Fareeha paused, "I shouldn't call her that anymore,"

"I disagree," Jesse turned sharply, "when all is said and all is done, she is still an animal, Fareeha."

"No, Jesse she's⎯"

"⎯Fareeha, you've let yourself into this fantasy for too long," Jesse pinched the bridge of his nose, 

 "Jesse."

"No, listen to me!" Jesse slammed his hands down on the desk, "that... that thing has probably taken thousands of lives! Have you not heard the stories? Regardless, you must see through... the way she is that she can't and will never be like one of us,"

"Your ignorance astounds me for a man with a taste for a man of culture," Fareeha leaned back in her chair,

"And what do you mean by that?" Jesse snarkily replied,

"I know your little secrets," Fareeha narrowed his eyes, "she may not look like us, but she might be,"

"Might, huh?" Jesse kissed his teeth, "and what if she's not?"

Fareeha silenced.

"What if you welcome her into your life with open arms and what," Jesse paused, "she kills you?"

"She wouldn't do that!" Fareeha stood up so quickly that her chair fell back onto the floor and her desk rattled,

"You sure?" Jesse narrowed his eyes before suddenly lifting his leg,

"What are you doing?"

"You wait," Jesse began ripping his right boot off and tossing it to the floor before working on his sock.

As soon as all had been removed, Fareeha gasped. Starting just below Jesse's knee was an irregular, bent piece of metal that replaced his foot. It was shaped like an upside-down hook yet it bore the resemblance of a sythe, the metal seemed worn and rather dented as if it had been hacked with a sword after a myriad of battles. The curve allowed Jesse to still wear boots, hence the reason the captain had never been aware of it. After allowing Fareeha to survey his foot, he began to pull his clothing back on: leaving the captain in utter shock. She'd known him for so long yet he kept such a key thing away from her.

"Why...?"

"Why didn't I tell ye?" Jesse replied, brushing off his hands, "because you'd go into hysterics if I told you how it happened."

Fareeha remained silence, glancing down to his right boot then back up at him with those beady, chestnut eyes.

"At the time I never realised what had caused it, but after further analysis and that pretty display your friend put on during the first day, I knew I'd seen one of 'em before," Jesse inhaled sharply, "it was normal day back with me old crew, we'd all docked at an uncharted island for some rest. I'd decided to go restock and see if anyone were about, little did I know I'd come across a monster. I walked until I found an open bay, one where the water kissed the tips of the rocks and sand, it was heavenly. I sat down with my legs bein' splashed by all kinda waves when suddenly, snatch. Without warnin' one of those demons came from one of the steeper waves and began makin' work on me leg. Due to my quick thinking, I slashed it a couple times with a dagger I always kept on me. I didn't realise how much damage it had done until both were gone, my foot and the creature."

"You see," Jesse continued, "those things kill for fun. Though I ain't ever seen one get all close and friendly, they all have the same intents."

Fareeha placed her hands heavily on the table as if a sudden weight had come over her shoulders.

"She's bein' nice because she knows she's been stitched up," Jesse stuck his thumbs into his belt like before, "you place her in the open ocean with you swimmin' around? She'll finish you, understand?"

Fareeha nodded, feeling rather inferior to the man before her. She ducked her head and sank back into her chair, rather deflated. She suddenly felt a twang of sympathy for Genji as she wondered if Angela would've killed him, had he not have reacted first. Thoughts like this fogged her mind until she developed this mild distrust for the creature. Perhaps her reasoning was correct, maybe there was no right or wrong.

Jesse regarded the captain with the same respect he had before with a swift nod and a swift exit out of the room to give Fareeha space.

The captain sat as her mind conjured up these horribles images of her crew being demolished by the hungry, killing force of that monster. She contemplated whether it was best to keep it on board though her fears of the creature following the ship just to lead them all to their untimely death was looming over her decisions.

"God... What am I to do...?" Fareeha leaned back, "she just... seems so sweet but..." she thought about Jesse's leg.

Whatever conclusion or answer her mind would throw at her seemed to disregard other forces at play. All of her hatred towards the creature would be swiftly intercepted with her own observations. The creature hadn't killed anyone, even when threatened. She'd stayed peaceful and only responded when threatened, like how anyone else would. Fareeha wanted to allow herself to keep seeing Angela as something human or similar, however, Jesse's story and opinions seemed to blur that answer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's something looming in the distance.... a slight disturbance for the crew...
> 
> You'll find out soon ;)))
> 
> (P.S i hope the start with the like,,,, update on all the characters over the past few days,, save Mako and Jamison, weren't too overkill??? I just wanted to inform y'all and give the story some more depth in a way that these people do things while the focus isn't on them, you know?)
> 
> // DOUBLE P.S The name description thing as mentioned above was done in such a way it'd come across as a suspect list. Also, it's chunkiness and discomfort it causes when reading it in a structure state is done purposely, okay ciao //


	8. Don't Go Poking The Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little insight into Fareeha past followed by Lena attempting to break the captain's stubbornness, but her opinions on the creature could soon be put to the test.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy fuck am i drained from school ;)
> 
> i had english every day this week and we're doing the same shit everyday holy fuckkkk
> 
> okay so my motivation to do a n y t h i n g has plummeted but hey ho, gonna write another chapter of this bad boy
> 
> also almost got exposed for being gay at school which was a fucking wakeup call of me being too obvious lmao. i decided to sit with my legs on the desk and said "gay people cant sit properly" to which i realised,,,, bitch im in science class with a bunch of homophobes and straight kids that'll bully me,,,,, i said "good thing im not gay" and fuckin sat normally again
> 
> no one suspected a thing.
> 
> anyway, gotta conceal don't feel: so ready for school tomorrow,,,,

As the next morning came about, the nighttime lights lulled away into a peaceful slumber beneath the skies of blue and purple while the hustle and bustle of the Falcon's Fury raged on. The sea had been left with a misty fog that settled over the water like a blanket. It completely swarmed the atmosphere, leaving the tips of the ship's masts out of view. The obvious signs of a storm swelling unsettled the navigator at the wheel and made the man in the crow's nest think twice before assuming what he saw in the distance was that of a rock or ship.

The wind seemed to pick up overnight with buckets being tossed about the deck and canons seemingly off point and facing in all directions. Along with the wind came the step-up in waves. Outwardly, the water adorned this blackish-blue that left no crew member able to look down into the once clear seas. The waves clattered awkwardly against the wood of the ship, allowing this tremendous creak to come from the belly of the beast. The crew was almost silent, especially due to the fact it was early morning and a shift swap had just occurred; so people kept to themselves for now. Through the thick smog was a ball of hazy, gold light that seemed to become distorted through the fog. The navigator would have to squint to even have a chance of knowing if they were going in the right direction.

This eerie morning gift managed to unsettle the captain in ways that could not be described. Fareeha would depart from her captain's quarters, walk up to the head of the ship then return without a single word being uttered from her lips. Her eyes seemed more hollow, yet they still swarming with whisks of enthusiasm that bubbled under the surface. Her eyes looked as if they were new, as if they hadn't seen the horrors of piracy or the horrors of this harsh world. How wrong that was. Those eyes were aged, more than the physical age that seemingly allowed people to tie her down when it came to her knowledge of the world and its wicked ways. Too many times had that captain been told, "quiet now, the adults are speaking," or, "you're too young to understand."

These snarky comments defined her way of growing up where her skin was thicker than normal and her spirit burning for longer. In situations where she'd be told to be quiet, those so-called "adults" had likely not seen the atrocities that girl had seen. In her youth she was left as an orphan, scrounging around for a bite to eat or shelter from the rain: she'd learned that no-one would have her back and not to rely too much on being saved. With her mother and father presumed dead, what left was a teenager meant to do? After lying her way around the ports under the name "Satiah Almasi" of eighteen years, even though she was fifteen, she managed to get herself a job within a tavern. As luxurious as it sounds, it was not what she wanted to do forever. She stayed until she was the age of sixteen and only left due to an opportunity she couldn't give up.

One day a scroungy looking twenty-one-year-old staggered through the doors, obviously intoxicated. He slumped down on a bar stool and blacked out instantaneously. The young Fareeha Amari stared inquisitively at the stranger due to his strange dress code that resembled that of the old west going on in the neighbouring country. He was obviously from the Americas and that intrigued the teenager more. Seeing he was in no position to move, she housed him in the small attic she lived in above the tavern until he was better. As a thank you, the man offered to take her away from what he described as, "this shithole," to a life of adventures and opportunity. Who could say no?

After agreeing, she was shipped off to become a stowaway on a rather heroic looking galleon. 

"No first class?" She'd tell the young man as they both hid behind barrels,

"As soon as we're off, I promise we'll be rich."

She doubted the man highly, especially since his chosen name of "Joel Smith" seemed a little too basic for a man of his appearance, that said he often doubted her name since she said it with a stammer usually as if trying to remember.

Even with all her doubts, his promise was almost fulfilled. As the crew of the galleon left the ship they were on he told her to wait. Thinking she'd been stitched up and soon thrown under the bus by her new companion, she ventured up onto higher decks just to find the ship began moving again. As soon as she reached the quarterdeck she was shocked to see said companion waving to the port that was shrinking behind with one hand also on the wheel.

From that day on, the two has sailed the sea together, picking up new crew members and ditching the untrustworthy ones. As for how Fareeha became captain, that was the simple game of cutlass on cutlass one day as she challenged her superior. While her companion showed boat-loads of confidence, she pretended to be inexperienced with the weapon. Little did the old captain know that she had a lot of spare time to practice in her time at the tavern. Effortlessly, Fareeha removed the cutlass from his hands and even raised a brow as she pressed the tip of the blade into his side. After that fight, he bowed and said she was finally ready to learn his real name to which she came clean too. That's how the two became Jesse McCree and Fareeha Amari, the finest companions this sea had ever seen.

Jesse was the only one who could truly capture Fareeha's naivety. He knew how she worked, her ins and outs and what pushed her buttons down. Though unaware most of the time, he tiptoed around her knowledge as if he were on eggshells, pressing into a different area when it seemed helpful to his cause. 

You'd think two people that knew each other so well would likely be romantically involved or would've been once upon a time. Not for these two as their dynamics in relationships differed with the two just saying they were incompatible. While the current crew raised their brows at the two's long-standing friendship that had been nothing more or nothing less, the two kept their mouths tightly shut on their reasons for being incompatible. 

Even as friends the two bickered. Hence why Fareeha was in quite the mood that foggy morning.

"Morning Cap," the enthusiastic Lena bounced through the door, bucket in hand, "just fed your mate, she's in quite the mood right now,"

"You mean Angela or Amélie? The latter always seems to be in a mood," Fareeha rolled her eyes,

"Hilarious, and why're you suddenly so grumpy about Amélie anyway?" Lena sighed, tossing the bucket to the side with a loud clatter,

"Perhaps because she's just appeared out of the blue? Seems rather strange, even though she had her reasons to disappear: she just came back so quickly and easily?" Fareeha leaned against her desk, looking at the off-shift navigator under heavy eyelashes,

"She's just trying to fit in, that's all," Lena began nervously trying to arrange Fareeha's coats on the wall, something she'd never done before,

"Mhm," Fareeha hummed, "and what are you doing up still? You've got the night shift yet you insist on wasting your time not to sleep?"

"Just a little busy," Lena shrugged with one shoulder,

"With what?" The captain didn't hesitate,

"Some work, why do you care so much?" Lena snapped,

"Oof," Fareeha huffed, "lippy today?"

"No need to act like my parents," she narrowed her eyes,

"Yes, and there's no need to treat your superiors with respect, is there?"

"Oh for God's sake **⎯** "

"⎯What's wrong with you today?" Fareeha tossed a hand in a wide gesture,

"What's wrong with _me?_ What's wrong with you!" Lena pointed, "ever since that goddamn fish came on board you've changed. You used to make sarcastic jokes with me and come across as a friend, now you're just... acting like you're better than me!"

"Ha! That's rich coming from you," Fareeha stood up straight, even from a distance she towered over the Brit, "you've been literally attached to Amélie since she came out of hiding, I didn't realise her coldness and anger would affect you too?"

"Are you...? Amélie's the angry one? I heard you and Jesse arguing from a lower deck and now you've exploded at me? Who's next, Angela?"

"Don't bring that fucking thing into this," Fareeha narrowed her eyes,

"Thing?" Lena exclaimed, "she used to be called a she and now you're suddenly acting as if she's just something useless you can toss to the side. She's probably more mature and human than you are right now,"

"I'm not mature? You've had a go at me all because I was asking about what you were busy with? Now you're just going off topic," Fareeha replied,

"I'm not talking about that anymore. Why the hell have you suddenly gone off that creature? You were enthralled by it, spending more time down there than you did with your so-called friends? What changed?"

"I learned the truth," Fareeha shrugged nonchalantly,

"What, truth?"

"We all knew it was dangerous, but I tried to ignore that. Ever since that thing with Genji I realised it couldn't be trusted,"

"Are you serious?" Lena cocked her head to the side, "Genji was tampering with the damn thing and got what he deserved,"

"He attacked her in self-defence,"

"And you know that because...?"

"It makes the most sense," Fareeha crossed her arms,

"She only attacks when threatened," Lena narrowed her eyes, "surprisingly, its what most animals do."

Fareeha breathed in slowly, allowing her chest to fill before she held it for a second and released.

"If it was so dangerous, it would've sung us all to our watery graves," Lena sighed,

"What do you mean?"

"Do you not know any myths? Their voices are so... dreamy and heavenly that using that strength, mermaids can kill a whole crew and lull them all the sleep. Don't you think she would've done that by now?"

Fareeha paused and her mind tampered with the stubbornness Jesse had thrown at her. While her heart wanted to believe Lena, her mind was telling her otherwise. 

"Just get out my room," Fareeha ordered,

"But⎯"

"⎯Now!"

* * *

The day continued under the sheet of fog that refused to clear, the sky would peak through now and then but not enough to puncture the grey blanket. The crew continued their tasks in a methodical gloom of low rumbles of chatter and the occasional patter of rain from the moist fog accompanying the sounds. 

The captain attempted to stay cooped up in her office unless totally necessary. She paid a quick visit, however, down to the medical bay to check on Genji who seemed to be healing well. He was finally awake and talking though his lack of memory proved to be useless in the case of who attacked him. With a sigh of defeat, Fareeha was left to sit idly in her office. That's until a raucous came from outside. 

Suddenly, the once silent drone of the water lapping against the ship was thrown into heaps of chaos as one single shout threw the crew into hysterics.

"Enemy ship, port-side!" Lúcio yelled from the crow's nest.

Down below, heaps of crew members hauled the canons to face the right direction before loads of cannonballs were brought onto the deck. People barged past each other in a panic for survival or avoidance of incoming enemy fire. Some hid away in the lower decks while other valiant pirates like Reinhardt got up to fight. 

Jesse was first on the scene with his hoarse voice shouting orders before Fareeha was even aware of the chaos. As soon as she appeared the crew stiffened due to the fear of being punished for a poor performance. The ship that was creeping through the mist was larger than the Falcon's Fury, it had an extra sail and with that an extra few crewmembers that could man more canons. 

"This isn't good," Fareeha muttered, steaming down the deck next to Jesse who was shouting even more,

"Thanks for noticing," Jesse grumbled between orders.

On cue, a volley of booms came from the deck's canons as several chunks of lead hurled towards the incoming ship. Lena was at the wheel, weaving in an attempt to throw the other crew off target. Seemingly ineffective, it did make the enemy think twice when aiming. 

In response, the other ship responded with their volley of explosions. The cannonballs brushed over the ship's surface, barely breaking off a chunk of a staircase's railing: that was until a late cannonball struck the side of the ship, emitting the horrifying crunch of wood snapping.

"Fuck," Fareeha stated upon hearing that clatter of her ship ripping itself apart,

"Don't worry," Jesse assured, "we have a big crew for a reason. I'm sure someone's on it,"

"I-I guess," Fareeha rushed to the quarterdeck, Jesse hot on her heels, and stood behind Lena, a fierce spark twinkled in her eye,

"What're ye thinkin'?" Jesse asked, his face adorning this look of worry and fear, down on the deck Reinhardt was taking charge of the canons and shouting orders of where to aim and when to shoot,

"Lena verge left," Fareeha narrowed her eyes,

"T-That means we'll be headin' straight for her, Captain?" Lena's eyes were wide with shock as she began doubting her captain's thought process, 

"Exactly."

"Somethin' tells me this ain't gonna go well," Jesse gulped, taking an early grip of the ship's railing,

"Trust me," Fareeha shot the two a devilish grin,

"A-Alright," Lena shrunk and had since lost all her enthusiasm since her little conflict with the captain. She saw her naivety and wondered if this flaw could end the lives of so many on that vessel.

The navigator spun the wheel sharply, turning the ship so suddenly that even the captain was a little thrown off. As the ship turned, the enemies saw their window of escape closing and it was closing fast.

In an attempt to salvage at least a stalemate, their foe turned sharply, though it seemed to have been done a second too late. 

The two ships collided in a flurry of woodchips that flew from the impact point. Both ships were likely taking on water and fast, with the enemy's crew being thrown into a crowd of chaos as it was likely few knew what to do. The Falcon's Fury having the advantage of being smaller glided past quickly due to the increased speed. They escaped the danger zone in a burst of speed brought on from the wind unexpectedly catching their sails. Their enemy, however, had no such luck. Their ship slowed due to the hysterics the crew was in as they tried to mend the damages: Fareeha was sure they wouldn't have to worry about them for a while though just to be safe she gave Lena an order to allow the ship to hide in the scatter of islands that plagued that part of the sea.

Fareeha had faith in her crew, she believed they'd repair and they'd be on their way with no problems.

Well, that was until a certain message seemed to reach her. 

"Captain! Captain!" Jamison came hobbling up the stairs onto the quarterdeck with his chest heaving, "we... we fixed the damages but before we did, there was a hole and the tank was completely destroyed... the mermaid isn't anywhere..." he panted,

"W-What!?" Fareeha yelled so loud that she was convinced the enemy ship could hear her,

"The hull was filling with water before Mako an' I got down there with a cannonball having punctured a hole in the hull and shattering the tank,"

"What are the fucking chances of that," Fareeha breathed, "so where is she?"

Jamison gulped and raised a shaking hand to point to the railing of the ship, "over there..."

"In the fucking ocean!?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof i had a headache writing this and its likely i might rewrite this chapter if its bad lol
> 
> Also, because I'm kinda ill and school is like sucking a dick while being a lesbian, (take that as you will) the next chapter *could* take a while so thats why ive gifted y'all with 1) a 2708 word chapter 2) a juicy cliff hanger of what the fuck fareeha's gonna do to get her future boo back (does that count as spoilers? idk, this is a fanfiction after all)


	9. A Sinking Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight continues and Fareeha is thrown into quite a dangerous situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i stopped half-way through writing to watch like twenty videos with hayley kiyoko in them
> 
> update to ^ 10 mins later: I've written two words because i watched more fuck fuck fuck i couldve had this out by now
> 
> i was supposed to be finding music to write to (lmao i shouldnt be because thats when half my writing makes no sense,,,, shit)
> 
> comments are always appreciated btw,,, ily <3 dont let that sway your opinion but i think ur great and wow, look at you. you look so good right now looking at your screen and spending time to read my story: woah! im honoured (na but genuinely thx ily)

The sea was ablaze with the cascading light of lanterns coming from the Falcon's Fury and that of the ship that was staggering behind. Men and women of varied class, age and race worked together as if all subtle differences didn't matter. The elderly who found the youthful sailors a deadweight within the crew forgot those frigid opinions as their lives were balanced heavily on their escape.

Though Fareeha doubted their return blow, her thoughts were soon put to the test as the ship that had previously been battered returned to its chase. While the Falcon's Fury was dwarfed in comparison to this enemy, it's lack of firepower proved to be fatal.

"Incoming!" Lena cupped around her mouth as meteors of lead hammered into the ship.

Their enemy had taken to a strange angle of sailing that allowed their cannons to be of use. Fareeha's ship was dead straight and at too awkward of a degree to fire back. All they needed to do was outlive the onslaught of fire until they were out of range.

"How long until we'd be out of range, Lúcio?" Fareeha asked the man who had since come down from the crows nest to help,

"I'd say about⎯" he grunted as he pulled a rope that was holding the sails tighter, "⎯two minutes,"

Fareeha rushed up the stair to the quarterdeck and began to address her next problem: Angela.

"Jamison!" She yelled on deck to find the man within the sea of people,

"Yes, Cap'n?" The Australian waved a pale and freckled hand above, 

"What side was the blow in the hull? Left or right?" Fareeha yelled,

"Starboard!" He replied, his voice cracking.

Fareeha turned sharply, her heel digging into the deck as she did, and went to the right side. She leaned over the railing with her eyes scanning over the only calm thing around, the sea. While a war raged on behind her, the waves still lapped trepidly against the wooden ship; looking undisturbed in their rhythm. The sea was still of a dark shade and choked up by the fog, however, the visibility had improved slightly, this time allowing the captain to see at least five meters of depth beneath the waves.

"See anything?" An unmistakable, gravely voice piped up and Fareeha turned to see that fatherly figure of Reinhardt,

"Shouldn't you be on a cannon?" Fareeha's cold reply didn't seem to penetrate Reinhardt's shield of boldness,

"We can't shoot from this angle, only wait," he paused, "from what I've heard, _it_ doesn't matter very much to you, so why are you looking?"

"I don't want it to hurt anyone else," Fareeha turned back to the waves, "if someone else finds it, then they'll be killed,"

"You can't capture her again, she's learned from that mistake,"

"I don't aim to capture her."

Reinhardt's expression faltered and his mouth emitted a small gasp between those aged lips, "You're not alluding to **⎯** "

"⎯I must protect my people,"

"By killing a creature that was just trying to live its life? It looks one of us yet you treat is as if it were a hell-being,"

"It is _not_ one of us, we do not kill innocent men," Fareeha barked, "it is not here to make peace, it has probably killed more men than my hand could ever compete with; have you not heard the myths? Have you not heard Jesse's story?"

"And has it showed any aggression towards you?" He asked,

"No? But I haven't got close enough when she was awake,"

"Perhaps she attacks particular people...?" Reinhardt deadpanned, "Either way, to me, you're killing an innocent creature that is now free,"

"I'm protecting people from a monster," Fareeha spat,

"You're being more of a monster than she has ever been," Reinhardt muttered as he parted from the captain.

Fareeha's head snapped round immediately to the man's words. She couldn't believe he dared to speak to her like that, she was his superior after all. The captain stepped away from the railing and shook her head in disbelief. She was losing it, she was certain. Her every day had been spent focusing on this creature, one day adoring it and the next hating: she wondered if it was all worth it. She could've tossed it off the side that day she saw her like she'd planned to, but she didn't. Why? Why did she grow so attached, jeopardise the safety of her crew due to the importance she bestowed upon this thing as if it were a God. She cursed herself for having such dangerous thoughts, ones that had to lead them to here with one crew member losing their leg after someone had the same opinions on that mermaid and a close friend having lost theirs due to a more malicious and direct attack. She could've avoided this so easily so quickly. The whole ordeal had stressed the captain out so much under the surface that she couldn't even focus on the grave danger her and her crew were in right now.

Now she was in the middle of the ocean, her vessel being slowly chipped away by another ship that seemed to be rubbing in all her mistakes with one that she couldn't predict or control. It was like the salt in the wound, if said salt was her whole life's work going to ruins. 

The captain sighed to herself and turned but a heavy feeling dropped into her stomach and a small yelp escaped her lips as a volley of cannonballs skyrocketed across the ocean plain if you'd have blinked you would've missed the utter carnage those ten or so balls of lead brought upon the ship.

Each one crashed down, some on the deck and the hull with little to no mercy as they tore through the wood of the ship. Chunks of planks splayed up amongst the sailors, some chips becoming dislodged in bare skin from the brutish force coming from the impact. Fareeha staggered back as one landed near the wheel of the ship, obviously in an attempt to disarm their movement. 

In mere seconds another attack made its course, this one having a surgeon's precision. Though there were no severe injuries on the surface, the same couldn't be said for the vessel. 

"We're sinkin'!" She heard one man shout as a whole squadron of men hurried down the stairs to try and mend the damages, it was possible but rather difficult.

Suddenly, a loud crash of crunching wood came from above as one of the sails had been hit. The wooden pole that held the bottom of the sail snapped like a thin stick and bent downwards due to the sliver that still connected it to the rest of the mast. As the pole swung down it looked as if it was making a beeline for the captain.

"Fareeha, watch out!" Jesse screamed, his lungs stinging from the sheer speed and pressure he put them under from his delivery.

The captain, looking like a deer in headlights for a moment, gasped and without warning her body flung herself back, right over the railing of the ship.

The whole world seemed to go in slow motion once she had passed over that white safety barrier of the railing, Fareeha stared forward as her view travelled down the side of the ship and she inspected every detail and passed two portholes as she descended down into the cold, icy waters.

She landed with a tremendous crash within the waves, her arms clawing for nonexistent leverage. Fareeha's eyes were wide with terror as the waves began to lift higher around her and hammer heavier as the level of water above her head increased, she had to kick harder under the weight of her clothes. She looked around frantically in search of any way to go and saw her ship disappearing in the distance, that other ship on its tail.

In a quick slip and kick, she ripped her heavy jacket off and glanced down to see the fabric floating peacefully down into the blue depths. It twisted and turned like a leaf that trickled around in the wind as it danced and played, her jacket, however, was heavier and carried many memories with it as it sunk less elegantly down and down. The void below Fareeha's kicking feet didn't seem to end, it was like looking up into space; you'd never see the limit of it as it just kept going. When her head went below the water for a few seconds, Fareeha listened out into the blue expanse around her. Everything was silent below the surface, she was away from the chaos she'd been consumed by for the past several days, it all just seemed to build up to that one moment. All her life, her past, her mistakes and her future didn't seem to matter at that moment. All her sins were forgotten and all her acts were unimportant. When it came to nature, everyone was equal. No one was favoured, no one was higher, though if you had the knowledge you would certainly have an advantage, however, when it came down to flesh and bone against the elements: it was anyone's game.

She broke the surface once again and that's when the real weight of it all set in. Fareeha threw one arm down quickly then the other and began to thrash in the water, only inviting her head to become submerged again, however, instead of relaxing her that threw her further into a fit of panic.

"Help!" She yelled, her throat being clogged with water, "somebody!?"

She knew no-one was around but she saw it as better to try than die thinking someone could've been sailing by, perhaps on a small fishing boat or merchant ship, maybe a large galleon that she'd be more than willing to become a prisoner on than drown. 

Fareeha began to struggle to keep her head above the waves as her legs kick less and less. Her head was above the waves and after about thirty seconds she began sinking again, her legs were twinging with pain and stung in such ways that she didn't think possible. Her body struggled to heave herself back up to the sunbeams above the waves and she soon found the small kicks she could muster were ineffective. Her body floated down, differently from her jacket, it was more of a cloud lowering in the sky; slowly, but steadily approaching the ground. Her eyes were open, burning from the salty water, looking above at the white lines that cascaded under the waves. It was strange, something so dangerous looked beautiful once you saw it from another angle. While her eyes peered around the wonders in utter bliss, her head was pounding and all of her was screaming for oxygen. 

It's not like holding your breath in a pool or when you're awaiting news anxiously, it's like being set on fire while being told not to scream. The captain had felt nothing like it. She fell further down, her chest feeling tighter and as though she'd been punched over and over again, she could no longer hear the splash of waves above her or the squawk of seagulls, just the heavy ambience of the ocean.

Her eyes fluttered open and shut as her limbs grew heavier and colder and she could hear her heart beating steadily in her ears. Her mind ran out of thoughts as they accepted the dark abyss consuming around her hollow eyes. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

That was until her aching eyes attempted to focus on a large black mass moving in from her peripheral vision like a shark looming around its prey... she hoped it wasn't one though. The mass moved closer but in such a way it resembled a skittish cat, this all occurred in several short seconds as Fareeha fought the dark shadows away from her eyes. The thing grew closer and closer with one limb poking out from the rest of it as it approached Fareeha's face and she realised:

It was a hand. A human hand coming to touch her cheek with such delicacy and gentleness that she was sure some angel had come down too early to collect her. Fareeha eyes were closing fast yet her mind was forcing her body to work with oxygen that just didn't exist. The hand brushed a thumb over her eyebrow before hooking sternly under her armpit. In a short burst, Fareeha's body was dragged upwards so quickly that she had no time to react until her lungs sucked in oxygen and she saw she was floating at the surface once again.

Fareeha looked around frantically but saw nothing around her, just empty space but as she sunk down she saw the creature at quite a distance from her: just floating within the water, too far to be in focus. The sheer speed it had delivered Fareeha to the surface then retreated was too fast for any animal the captain was aware of, and a human hand? There was only one thing she could think of...

"Angela..." Fareeha spoke into the water that invited itself inside upon the action of her opening her mouth.

The creature circled the captain who turned her head when it got out of view. Fareeha was certain this was some kind of manoeuvre before jumping in on its prey. 

As Angela got closer, Fareeha wasn't going to go down because of some creature that she'd managed to bring into contact with her in the first place. The captain swung a heavy fist through the water towards the mermaid in self-defence and struck it on its hip. While internally Fareeha was sure that would spur the creature to leave, Angela barely flinched.

Fareeha continued to move about, throwing weak punches and saw they were ineffective so she moved onto kicking. She was not about to let some mermaid kill her.

Angela almost deadpanned, her hands hanging at her side in quite a tired manner and her eyelids were hanging droopily in quite an irritated expression. Fareeha began to thrash even more and the mermaid not wanting to get hit by this idiot sailor just grabbed Fareeha's wrists tightly and stared at her with those piercing blue eyes, yet they had a certain spark that came across as quite the warning.

Fareeha settled down and was faced with the same problem as earlier: oxygen. She began heaving in the water and Angela once again handed the captain up to the surface. Instead of allowing Fareeha the moment to float down and harass her again, Angela got a firm grip on her ankles and suddenly began swimming as fast as she could with the captain flailing about by her feet.

This mermaid was tired of the captain's idiocy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question: I reply to all (most, sorry if I haven't) comments and because I was lowkey new at this, I wanna ask if y'all receive & see the replies 
> 
> This chapter took like,,,, five hours to type and idk why??? usually takes me like,, one maybe two if i have descriptions in my head cos then i just have to interweave them i guess but i had that and still this shit took ages???
> 
> Lmao I put a small pun in the chapter summary ;) "Fareeha is thrown into quite a dangerous situation" see what I did there? Thrown???? It seemed funnier in my head, don't judge me.


	10. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even without a captain telling them, the crew realises they too are in grave danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so
> 
> next chapter is gonna finally be *click* about angela *click* y'all have waited a while with only snippets and blah blah
> 
> there is gonna be some... unexpected history with a certain character but i don't want to reveal too much

The whole of the ship was thrown into chaos. Men, women alike ran like headless chickens all over the deck as all order and hope were lost within one swipe of the mast breaking. Jesse, while being second in command, lacked the sheer strength to wrangle these people into a civilised way. He had never seen himself as a leader, nor wanted to be one. His short captain career back when Fareeha was his right-hand-man wasn't nearly as sea-conquering as Fareeha's reign. 

Fareeha was a strong captain, while sometimes putting someone... or something... above her crew, she could still manage that weakness with a quick comeback. With a spirit as ever-burning as the sun, she'd spark a passion within all who came into contact with her. A woman on a ship was seen as a burden, bad luck, however, Fareeha waved off these beliefs with a talent for leading and a firm blade.

Jesse was perhaps her antithesis in several ways. He was inspiring in some ways, however, lacked the ability to rile up his crew. He was a brilliant fighter, that's for sure, but on the inside, he was quite the softy. You wouldn't believe that behind that bristly beard and stoic persona, he had a kind nature. If it weren't for his upbringing that brought him to that tavern with Fareeha, he'd be off picking flowers and act as some sort of Johnny Appleseed reincarnate. He was a mystery amongst the crew, well, except for Hanzo. That'll come to light later.

With his leadership not being his strong point, he struggled to get the crew back into order. He stood in the middle of the deck, cupping his mouth and shouting orders though no one was listening to him. Lena, watching on from quarterdeck, was still frozen in shock as her head kept looking to the spot Fareeha was thrown overboard back to the man yelling in hysterics.

"All of you," came a deep, rumbling voice that sent shockwaves through the planks, "man your stations, open the two sails we have left and aim for that island," Reinhardt growled from the top of the quarterdeck where he had moved.

There was an island? Many of the crew members thought, peering around the empty, rolling waves until, yes. Yes, there was one. 

Off to the starboard-side were a set of islands, dotted about the horizon. Some obviously too small to hide this monstrous ship yet there was one dead in the centre of these islands that drew tall into one mountain peak. It was a mystery how no-one had seen it, though the chaos had been quite the distraction.

"If you all get your asses up, we might make it before this vessel joins Davy Jones," Reinhardt took a fierce grip on the wheel almost throwing Lena off her feet.

He had a fierce look in his eye when he spoke like that as if he were scolding a group of soldiers. His jaw was locked in place after he'd muttered his few words and his hair was frolicking in the wind, much like it would've in his youth. No sane man would've disobeyed the orders of a man of his size, they'd likely be met with a strong whack on the head. 

"Where's the captain?" One man who had been on a lower deck asked, Reinhardt just looking at him with uneasiness,

"She was thrown overboard," he mumbled, attempting to be nonchalant about it.

While on the outside his responses were blunt and apathetic, his mind was racing about Fareeha. The first person who actually saw him as more than his brute strength. His emotions were lying underneath his upfront response of honour, saving the crew and keeping people safe. Even after years of distrust and unkindness coming from this crew, he knew saving them was what Fareeha would've wanted him to do.

That's why he was aiming the ship right for the beach of an island.

"Reinhardt, we're going to hit the beach!" Jesse shouted as he clung to the mast of a sail, his shout only sent the crew into fits of disarray even after it had been more civilised earlier,

"I know!"  

"Then why are you doing it?!" Jesse yelled, his voice going hoarse,

"Have you seen any more cannonballs hitting the ship? No, because going here was the only option!"

He did have a point. The other ship had pulled back upon seeing the sharp turn the Falcon's Fury took, they saw it as a manoeuvre to try and beach their ship due to the size difference. The barrage of cannonballs had ceased after Fareeha falling overboard as the two ships were in a straight line, neither could strike. Thankfully, that had worked in their favour as it allowed less response time to the sudden turn.

The ship was now steaming straight ahead, taking on more and more water as it did. The holes in the hull had been lazily repaired and still spurted water inside, hence that sea level getting increasingly closer to the top of the deck.

"Brace yourselves!" Reinhardt screamed as the ship struck the sand with a tremendous screech.

The whole deck suddenly angled upwards, throwing many backwards and several over the sides onto the sand. The vessel did come to a stop and all movements ceased with the crew looking round uneasily. 

"Is it... is it over?" Lúcio muttered, his back now leaning against the staircase up towards the quarterdeck due to the angle,

"I believe so," Reinhardt trotted down onto the deck, holding onto the railing for support, "come on men, onto the beaches. We can't do much up here."

Some looked puzzledly at the elderly man and several scoffed. That said, quite a few followed orders and one-by-one got down onto the beaches, using the chain of the anchor that came out the right side of the ship.

Several stayed on board, it was needed anyway, surveying the damage. They wouldn't be off this island for a while, most concluded.

"What're we to do now?" Jesse asked, quietly as he came up to stand next to Reinhardt on the golden sands,

Reinhardt sighed, placing a large hand on the American's shoulder, "I am not sure, sir,"

"Do not call me sir, I am hardly your superior after that," Jesse shrugged his hand off, "I suppose you're most well-suited to be captain,"

"There is no captain. I refuse to take that title from the Amari," Reinhardt nodded to Jesse, "we all work together, but yes I'll try and organise it,"

"You don't really believe she's alive? Do ye?" Jesse looked up to the man,

"I believe there are forces at play," He answered, not addressing Jesse's point at all,

"No but **⎯** she couldn't have survived that?"

"Not alone."

"What?" Jesse's brow contorted into a confused expression,

"Come on, we must make shelter," Reinhardt began walking with Jesse following suit.

Several people were standing around the two and also began tagging along. Lena was walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Amélie, even though that latter seemed to stop talking with the Brit. As expected. Though, not everyone got off the ship.

Tekhartha took great time to stabilise Genji and opted to stay on the ship. Genji's recovery was rapid after a certain point, sure, he didn't have a leg and while he was utterly distraught by that new reality, Tekhartha's calming words and patience on board was enough to get that man through having a wooden stump in its place. It seemed that the mystery of who caused that was now forgotten, well, Genji hadn't forgotten it. No one had quite had the courage to tell Genji all that had happened, standing on that beach was the first time he'd seen the crew in a while. He was so lacking in knowledge that he had no idea Fareeha or Angela were gone. It seemed Tekhartha avoided delivering that news, even after all the questions. 

Some of the crew didn't make it. Some were thrown off the ship, much like Fareeha, but some hit the sand so hard that their bodies couldn't survive. That said, most were alive with a few injuries and now they were all walking up the beach of this unknown island into the thick shrubbery. 

The island itself was huge and dwarfed the ship but on such a larger scale. There was one towering mountain peak dead in the centre that crept up to the lower clouds and built up smaller mountains that supported it. The greenery stretched across the whole place with thick jungles swamping the view. There was a hum of crickets and chatter of birds wherever you turned and if you stopped and focused on one tree for a moment you'd a see a whole ecosystem on the bark and leaves. 

The whole island seemed to work in clockwork with everything relying on each other in some small-scale circle of life. The only dangerous factor on the surface were some of the vines hanging from the trees were not vines at all and actually snakes. Thank God the medic survived. 

The wind whistled sweetly as it drifted through the crowd of trees populating the island, differently than on the ship. It wasn't as harsh or like hundreds of men whistling. It was as if a large bird were flying above, tweeting now and then. The whole ambience swamped every sound and view in this comforting sheet of safety. The ship was so different. It felt similar to how the first men discovering America would've felt. That buzz of being in an ecosystem where nothing judged and nothing scolded: just a place of peace where no white man had introduced democracy or the reason to why there are two sets of knives and forks at a fancy dinner. 

By now the crew had moved into quite a tight opening within the thick layers of trees, the floor was still reasonably shrub-covered but it seemed that would be the only habitable place. Brigitte and a few others had carried crates of supplies that weren't ruined by the water over along with bed sheets and pillows. The area was soon set up as some sort of makeshift hideaway with lanterns hanging from the trees and a firepit in the middle. Hammocks were deployed around the outskirts with some beds just being placed on the floor. This didn't just happen in seconds, however, by the time people were settling down the sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving this hue of soft colours dancing across the darkening sky.

Morale and enjoyment had rapidly decreased with several men writing letters and placing them in bottles for the next people to discover and others sitting at the ocean's edge, just staring with this sort of hollowness in their eyes. Not all were dreary and melancholic, Hana was still boiling with enthusiasm when not under the gaze of her superiors. There were few that truly saw that bubbly side of her, maybe three people. Brigitte was one of them.

While the Swede was not nearly as excited, she still moped around after the Korean with a dopey smile plastered on her face. Hana just provoked enjoyment and happiness, it was in her nature. Even with her enemies, she'd maybe drop a snarky joke before striking which managed to put them off. Even now, when Brigitte would obviously like to sit alone by the ocean's edge, she was joined by that upbeat girl.

"Hey there," Hana smiled, kicking her foot lightly on Brigitte's elbow,

"Greetings," Brigitte sighed, looking up from her spot on the sand,

"You're rather low?" Hana's smile faltered as she took a seat next to the burly woman,

"I guess," Brigitte sighed,

"Hey, at least we're together," Hana beamed, leaning into the Swede's arm,

"True," Brigitte smiled,

"This wouldn't be nearly as bearable without you," Hana closed her eyes, lapping up Brigitte's warmth,

"Neither would it be without the comfort you bring."

There was a moment of silence where Hana opened her eyes and turned to look to Brigitte. She studied the way the Swede's eyes glimmered, but not with hope.

"You look as if you have a lot on your mind?" Hana asked,

"I suppose you could say that," Brigitte shrugged,

"Are you comfortable with sharing?"

She was silent for a moment before uttering, "everything was going so well,"

Hana paused, analysing the answer.

"Is this about our plans?" Hana mumbled,

"Yes, and just life in general," Brigitte leaned on her palm, Hana blinked,

"We can still do tha⎯"

"⎯We were going to live together," The Swede interrupted, "leave this pirate malarky behind and finally live,"

"Brigitte..." Hana turned her head away,

"I'm serious Hana," Brigitte looked to the Korean, "I doubt we're going to get off this island,"

"Don't say that."

"You know I'm right," Brigitte was staring at the back of Hana's head, "why can't you look at me and see how genuine I am?"

"Because you're wrong," Hana's head snapped round to face the Swede, tears brimming at her eyes, "you always think you're right, and maybe you are most of the time, but sometimes you're not,"

"The same could be said of you!" Brigitte frowned, "how do you even have hope anymore?"

"Because I thought someone like you would be stronger to see that there was a chance we would move on to a better life," Hana replied, a tear straying from her eye which she quickly gathered with her thumb,

"Oh, come on? You're stupid to think that," Brigitte paused and within that moment of silence she saw her discrepancy, "wait⎯"

" _⎯I am not stupid_ ," Hana's eyes were full of such hurt that it made Brigitte's heart drop, "if you're going to be so... so ignorant then fine, I'm not going to sit here listening to it," the Korean stood up sharply and stormed away, ignoring all splutters of apologies coming from Brigitte.

The Swede stood up after a moment of silence and almost chased the girl, though Hana was having none of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had a sudden thought of doing a Shrek AU with Ogre Fareeha and Fiona Angela,,, opinions??
> 
> Sorry if the end seems rushed, I had 10 minutes before I should be at a friend's house and she lives,,,, get ready for it,,,, half an hour away :')
> 
> time to go get c h a n g e d


	11. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fareeha wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you need some ambience... i'd recommend a clickity click:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvBWhELMvFU&list=PLkLimRXN6NKw_9jg4POfkud6b6n1WFCNw
> 
> or,
> 
> google '01 The Shape Of Water' by Alexandre Desplat
> 
> mhm dats some good shit

Everything was dark. There was no light anywhere and there was this lack of consciousness that seemed infectious to all of the senses. Like being paralysed, it felt spiritual. As if you were merely an orb floating through the wind, yet you had no sight. You were like a soul wandering through a life where you're unsure whether it's worth living or not: in limbo. Imagine a world where there were no people, no senses, just an empty abyss where you were not falling or floating. Just existing. _That_ is the feeling Fareeha felt.

Fareeha wasn't sure whether she was dreaming or not. Her memories were in utter disarray with her mind barely being able to fit two puzzle pieces together. She tried to focus on the present, the here and now. She knew she wasn't on the ship anymore but what brought her to this unfortunate reality was a blur amidst the other colours and memories clouding her head.

 _Okay, Fareeha,_ she thought, _you can feel your arms, yes?_

She had her eyes shut, however, in this space of darkness, she decided to feel. Her arms stretched out to her side with the underside catching on this damp, gravely material that scratched on her skin. Upon trying to move her legs she had a sudden jolt of pain like a bolt of electricity through her body from her right ankle, eliciting a groan in response. 

_Let's not do that again._

Fareeha finally cracked open her eye just a small bit to allow some sunbeams to catch and ease her into adjusting. Perhaps nothing could've prepared her for the blinding light that came through even the smallest crack of her eyelids. She groaned upon the realisation that this sun wasn't going to go away, she'd have to get up eventually much like waking up for school in the morning. With a hefty grunt and push of her arms, Fareeha was sitting up right. Instantaneously, she began taking in her surroundings.

It wasn't quite what she was expecting. She was sitting on these sun-kissed sands that reflected like diamonds in the sunlight, each grain making up a larger picture. She sat several feet away from a bustling jungle and cliff face just behind her and even from a distance she could still hear the chatter of animal life. Fareeha pushed her hands into the sand and let them soak up the cooling moist that was hidden away from the scorching sun. She was bathing in the silence the universe would allow her when she needn't have worried about her duties or life. 

Fareeha sighed to herself and began to stand, oblivious to her recent discovery. She was about half-way up before attempting to place pressure on the right ankle which only resulted in a display of curse words and a thud as she fell on her ass. She mused at the idea that, that was a good representation of how her life was going right now. 

She soon realised she hadn't even taken a look at her foot, but when she did she'd regretted it all together.

Her ankle was bruised so badly that it was more than two shades darker than her skin and looked as if she'd dropped paint on it. There was definitely some sort of open wound running from the side of her heel up and across her ankle yet it had probably been throbbing and stinging for so long that she'd got used to it. Her foot was covered in dried blood which was now a dark, red much like that grey substance covering lava. While she was sure it wasn't broken, it still meant she wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

She huffed and threw herself back, arms outstretched onto the sand as she hadn't got much else to do. All she did was lie there and stare up to the blue sky which occasionally cast a whisp of white cloud across just to spice things up. Eventually, she closed her eyes and listened intently to the whistle of the wind on the bushes behind her or the chorus of claps the waves would bring as they crashed down on the sand.

Suddenly, there was a volley of splashes, much louder than the crashing of waves coming from the ocean. Fareeha struggled to sit up but once she did all she saw was the empty ocean. Nothing else that would've created that sound. She placed a hand on her brow and swept over the area, surveying anything that could've changed, she looked over to her right then left then straight to the water. What she did note, however, was that the sand was darker to her right as if a bucket of water had been thrown over it.

"Strange..." She muttered and she was about to speak again however she never got the chance to as a slimy, webbed hand hooked on her shoulder.

Fareeha opened her mouth to scream but in a quick flash, that same hand covered the pirate's mouth, subduing the sound altogether. She began to thrash, but another firm grip came on her other shoulder. Whatever had a hold of her was very strong and that reality sent a shiver down Fareeha's spine.

Expecting some sort of stab to the gut, Fareeha closed her eyes but such a response never came. After several seconds she felt the hands leave and she opened her eyes to see something in front of her.

Lying in quite a nonchalant way with their upper body being held up by one arm while the other lay casually at their side was that familiar mermaid that kept coming back to haunt Fareeha. The captain refused to believe it, though her memories began flooding back, confirming this was real.

"You... You saved me..." Fareeha breathed.

Angela's lips almost quirked upwards into a smile as she nodded with such gentleness and pride that Fareeha wondered if she could understand every word she was saying and the weight to each one.

"Why...?" The pirate hunched over with her hands resting in her lap and her uninjured leg bending and slotting underneath her other knee.

The mermaid shrugged one shoulder in response and scanned the pirate but as she got to Fareeha's ankle she audibly gasped and slapped her forehead.

"What? What's wrong?"

Angela made a strange gesture with her hands and pointed at Fareeha's foot. The pirate shrugged and the mermaid tutted. Once again she tried with one hand crashing into the other.

"Uhh... my foot hit something?" Angela nodded vigorously at the pirate's observation,

"What happened? Whatever it was... it gave me a proper whallop..." Fareeha almost laughed to which a sound came from the mermaid.

Fareeha's expression dropped as she watched the mermaid almost giggle yet it was much more hoarse, likely due to her never having spoken or made a sound for what could've been years. Angela saw the stare Fareeha was giving her and she quickly stopped, her cheeks burning.

"I wasn't staring at you, I just... I've never heard you laugh," Fareeha gulped and Angela's expression turned a heavier shade of red.

The mermaid was absolutely stunning in this light. Maybe it was the fact she was free or maybe it was how the sun was gently stroking the creature's hair making it seem genuinely made out of gold. And Angela's eyes? To die for. Like always they were that piercing shade of blue yet it was a different kind of blue from the ocean. Not one that would bore you if you'd sit there looking at the same shade for hours but one that would shine through the darkest of days with its waves upon waves of bright blue.

"I apologise for... everything I've done to you," Fareeha averted Angela's gaze and began drawing her finger in the sand,

"Mhm.." A sound⎯almost human⎯ came from the mermaid's throat, a hum,

"Can you speak...?" Fareeha looked up sharply and leaned forward to look closer to Angela.

The mermaid blinked for a moment but suddenly raced back to the water, leaving the pirate to herself.

"Wait! Come back!" Fareeha leapt to her feet⎯foot⎯and hopped towards the water but soon gave up and fell to her knees at the ocean's edge, her hands being swarmed by the water.

There was nothing.

Fareeha waited a moment and gave up, beginning to bum-shuffle up the beach again.

That was until a head poked up out of the water, just before the whole creature hoisted herself back onto the sand.

"Oh."

Angela pointed to the water and deadpanned to Fareeha.

"Ah yes... you need water," Fareeha blinked, "sorry."

Angela crawled up the beach and took a seat about a foot away from Fareeha. She was much larger in length yet her human-like upper half was obviously smaller and would likely be on a person a lot shorter than the captain. While Fareeha found comfort in that, she soon remembered the strength this creature had. She did note that she had to stop calling her a 'creature.'

"So..." Fareeha looked to Angela, "do you talk...?"

"Hm," Angela's hum of response filled the captain with little confidence,

"Is there a yes or no system?" 

Angela did a thumbs up and a thumbs down.

"Helpful," Fareeha chuckled but a part of her wondered how intelligent Angela really was. She was too human, it was rather unsettling.

"So," Fareeha began, "do you understand English?"

Angela's thumb went into the middle.

"Kind of? Alright..." The captain hummed, "do you... enjoy my company?"

Thumbs up.

"That's good... have you ever met people like me?"

Same response.

"How did that go?"

Thumbs down.

"Ah, I see," Fareeha tapped her chin, "have you always been like this?"

Angela's thumb slowly lowered and she turned to look at the captain, her eyes eerily wide. Fareeha gulped. The mermaid looked at her lap then at her hands and eventually forward.

"Uh... no comment..." Fareeha concluded and leaned back on her palms.

The two sat there with Angela staring off at the ocean and Fareeha looking to the back of the mermaid's head. Angela seemed troubled as if something was on her mind: Fareeha knew that. It was obvious by the way her eyes wouldn't focus on one thing, it kept switching from wave to wave. Fareeha wasn't going to say anything.

Soon the sun began to set and those familiar cascading shadows of the clouds painted the upper sky in dancing shadows. The purple and pink hues soon died down with the departure of the sun and the jungle sounds turned to those of creaking crickets. Angela in that time had made several water stops and joined Fareeha back on the land every time. Then at one time she got frustrated and grabbed the pirates arm, tugging her down to the water's edge. She lead Fareeha low enough so that her upper body was out the water but her legs her underneath and this is how it was at that moment. 

Angela glanced at the captain briefly before slowly lowering herself and resting her upper torso on the shins of the pirate, avoided Fareeha's gaze in fear of her response.

The captain just blinked for a moment before attempting to lie down herself. She wasn't too far into the water so from the shoulders up, her head was just on the bank but the slivers of water did still tickle at her neck. Fareeha was unsure of what to do, she was never aware that mermaid's slept, especially not on a captain's legs? She tried to ignore it as she knew if she moved, the mermaid would obviously be spooked.

Why Fareeha was so scared of disturbing the mermaid was a mystery to her and every time she tried to indulge in finding an answer, she'd just be left stumped, staring at Angela's golden locks that were spilling over her knees. The mermaid's large tail wrapped just underneath Fareeha's feet to make sure the two would stay there until morning and something about that was comforting for the captain.

_Guess I'm just going to have to stay here..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why the two day upload?
> 
> cos i got exams and boy oh boy im gonna f a i l cos my revision time has been spent planning all this shit out and playing overwatch & fortnite
> 
> add me up on ps4,,,,, IShouldShutUp
> 
> besides,,,, when the exams come i wont be able to upload too much  
> that said, y'all know thats probably utter bullshit lol


	12. Ocean Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela finds her voice and the crew are on the verge of turning on one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god school has been shit
> 
> exams have drained me and the only reason i have motivation to write is because Billie Eilish resurrected me so hey howdy hey, another chapter
> 
> *cough* chapter name ties in with Billie y'know *cough*

There was something plain yet undeniably comforting at the gesture of waking up before a friend or something and just sitting there, not daring to move and disturb their slumber. It was strangely sweet when the heavy-sleeper had opened their tired eyes to see their friend, sitting calmly having awaited that moment. It was some sort of unspoken gesture of kindness, a symbol of caring, as the friend would not want to disrupt the healthy benefits of a good nights sleep: who would? Even here, with a creature that hindered on having humanity and emotions, Angela had her eyes open, now lying on the captain's front after moving in her slumber, just sitting. Not daring to move.

She listened. The orchestra around her was quiet but so loud if you'd had waited and focused. Like a beginning of a symphony, the piano of rustling leaves leading on to a percussion of waves hitting the beach then all rounding up to this big crescendo of tweeting birds and rocking trees that would just suddenly stop, then replay. In the odd cycle, Angela found herself added a new melody to the mix, a steady pulse, an unknown rhythm coming from the chest of her makeshift bed.

Fareeha's heart beat slowly, on the edge of being out-of-time. Like a clock where some methodical clicks would be a second late. When her heart would delay, Angela's eyes would wide momentarily before narrowing back into her sleepy daze. The creature herself wondered for a moment, thought being the better word, in a way different to humans. She didn't have a voice in her head, or a script, she just pondered the sounds Fareeha would direct at her. _The Words._ And what they meant. Something about them seemed so similar yet so alien. Like a song that switches between your first language and gibberish every other word. Almost as strange as Fareeha's heartbeat.

Angela stiffened for a moment, even the sound that had been bound to her: a name. She recognised that she responded to it, almost like a command. Someone would recreate that sound of her name and her head would be directed at them. The creature didn't think like you or Fareeha, they pictured things  or conjured the idea up in her head. Like a dot-to-dot with no numbers, you'd decide where the next line goes yet you'd still end up making an image. 

Before long, Angela was tapping back into that symphony and getting lost in the waves, dancing in the sunlight and cooling in the wind. That was until the sheer lack of manners interrupted her.

"Ah, you're awake?" The pirate smiled a toothy smile, showing all that she had. Angela almost frowned for a moment as she sat up, leaning on her hands. She had just been dragged out of her music,

"You seem annoyed? What's wrong?" Fareeha added after a few seconds of that strange look she was receiving.

Angela only emitted a long huff, a gesture that almost made the pirate squirm.

"So you sigh now?" Fareeha laughed, obviously forced.

Sigh. A word that seemed to be on the tips of Angela's tongue. She stared, puzzled at the pirate as her mouth opened a fraction.

"Sigh?" Angela mimicked, her voice cracking in so many places from the lack of use yet her voice was like bottling that crescendo from earlier and letting it loose for a second,

"Wha..." Fareeha's expression dropped, "you... you spoke?"

Angela blinked for a moment before slowly dragging herself away from the pirate, her face contorted into that of such confusion. Her throat burned and her head reeled as every word Fareeha uttered ingrained on her conscience. 

"Angela?"

She knew that name. The name that had been given to her, the one she remembered. Her mind became pages of a blurred dictionary as she seemed to remember thousands of phrases and sentences all at once. As if upturning a stone, her thoughts revealed a side to her that she never thought of exploring. Her memories. Ones that were clouded almost crafted in such a way that she'd forget. She wondered who her parents were: a detail she soon realised had been lost somewhere. The names bubbled in her chest and her childhood tickled at her memories.

"Papa..." Angela muttered, covering her mouth immediately,

"You... you speak?" Fareeha whispered, completely bewildered by this discovery, "though... you have an accent,"

Angela seemed puzzled for a moment, her mind fondling that word on her tongue: the meaning obviously lost. She noted the strange array of words scattering her mind, some looked to be of the same ideology while others were of another.

Languages.

That's what she settled on. Her memory was a mix of several bands of words. Some ranging from a language too family as that is all she had heard as of recently, that being English, and the others being completely alien. 

"Deutsche..." The creature spoke, looking up at Fareeha for some sort of hope in her eyes that would tell her the meaning of what she had just said,

"I..." Fareeha tilted her head, "was that German?"

Finally, it all came rushing back like a wave crashing down on a beach.

"I can speak," Angela whispered, "Fareeha, I can speak!"

The pirate was at a complete loss for words as she stared at a creature she had seen as inferior to her kind now speak and act in the same way she does. Fareeha didn't know what to say, she only calculated everything she wanted to ask then almost deleted the questions entirely.

"But my memories..." Angela paused, "they're so... wrong?"

"Wait, Angela," Fareeha gulped, "do you... know anything about what happened to Genji?"

"Who...?" The creature titled her head, "oh, wait!"

Then her expression dropped.

"That idiot?" She huffed, "he deserved it honestly,"

Fareeha furrowed her brows, "And why is that?"

"He loved to poke and prod," she sighed, "I never hurt him. That was all someone elses fault,"

"Who?"

"Fareeha, I can't possibly know," the pirate clearly deflated at the creature's comment, "I was turned the other way."

The pirate seemed stumped but then another question popped up her throat.

"Hang on," she rubbed her temples, "you talk?"

"I just... remembered these words suddenly, they seemed so... near yet so far," Angela looked more confused than Fareeha,

"You're so well spoken? And to think, you've been like this..." Fareeha trailed off, "your... whole life..."

The two stared at one another, both thinking of the weight of those implications regarding if Angela was always like this.

"I can't remember how I came to be," Angela held her head, her tail squirming momentarily, "Fareeha, I can't remember anything!"

"Hey, hey... relax," Fareeha crawled over, her legs still damaged, and rest a hand on the scales of Angela's tail,

"What am I...?"

The question seemed simple yet when Fareeha saw the tears brimming at Angela's eyes, she knew she didn't want the obvious. The mermaid hugged herself, attempting to find comfort though the body she was in didn't feel like her own: it was similar, yet not enough. 

"You're... Angela," Fareeha paused, "whatever you are or were doesn't matter to me,"

Fareeha coughed, regretting how personal she made her answer.

"This all makes no sense!" Angela exclaimed, thrashing her tail over the sand and leaving a dent within, "I'm a creature, but I don't feel as though I am one..."

The pirate looked at her hands for a moment before holding one up, flat, in the air. Angela stared at it for a moment, clearly trying to remember normality. The creature too raised their hand and Fareeha leaned forward to connect them.

"See? You're still one of us," Fareeha inhaled, "you're not a creature or monster, you're a human at heart: I can tell."

* * *

Meanwhile, at a bay on the other side of the island was the rest of the crew. Neither were aware of each other's presence. The crew were in shambles, some had ran away and disappeared into the jungle: likely looking for a way to live a zen lifestyle. Some were still putting faith in Reinhardt as they helped with supplies and followed orders. It was like natural selection: only the mentally and physically strongest thrived.

Genji had been well enough to come outside but under the watchful eye of Tekhartha. Reinhardt had avoided the man seemingly at all costs as he almost knocked over a stack of crates at the sight of him: this managed to raise a couple eyebrows yet no one questioned it. While Genji's ability to walk was almost back to normal, his mind was scattered. It was difficult to reconnect yet the young medic was trying his hardest, using his impressive knowledge on the mind.

"How come you know so much about this whole... noggin business?" Jamison asked, leaning on a barrel that was situated at the end of Tekhartha's bunk,

"Oh, well I suppose it's mostly from my meditation and schooling," the medic responded with few seconds of hesitation,

"Hmph," Jamison seemed displeased with the answer, "but no one's as good as ye? What makes you so special,"

"I do not know, Jamison," Tekhartha glanced up at the man who in personality was almost the antithesis,

"You're hidin' something," the scrawny pirate grumbled, "what are ye? Probably part of some mafia out to kill us all."

The people around all fell very silent and stared at the medic. Jamison had managed to catch the attention of everyone at the camp, even Reinhardt who was standing there with quite the look over his face. Tekhartha burned under their gazes, he looked at every person, right in the eyes, in an attempt to see if they all agreed with the pirate: which they seemed to. The young medic, gulped heavily, crafting his answer.

"That's enough," the thundering steps of Mako almost drowned out his sentence entirely, "this is a good man," he pointed to the medic,

"Come on bud, even you 'aff to think there's something a little off about him?"

"And whatever that thing may be is none of my business until it affects me," Mako grumbled, lifting Jamison by his scarf and hoisting him away,

"I am part of no mafia, Jamison," Tekhartha mumbled in an out-of-character sort of way.

The pirates around got back to work, however, they all kept glancing up at the medic now and then which prompted Mako again.

"Again, this is a good man. You all look to him in a judgemental manner yet you all have dark pasts and so might he," his gruff voice punctuated every word with a sharp edge, "leave him be."

And with that, the whole debacle around the medic died out. Mako, however, stayed put in the place of Jamison as a means of protection. He wasn't going to stay like forever, yet at that moment in time, it seemed rather important that he stay.

"Thank you," Tekhartha looked up to the large man,

"Don't thank me," Mako responded, "you're probably going to save me a couple times in the future so I suppose this is a way of thanking you before that happens."

Tekhartha smiled to himself as he turned his attention back to wrapping bandages up around twigs to keep them together before stuffing them in a rucksack. Mako was a man of few words, but when he spoke: everyone listened. The young medic stuck with one of his phrases: 'you all have dark pasts and so might he.'

The medic sat back, leaning against the trunk of a tree that was nearby and away from the crowds. He stared up at the swaying palm leaves above and sighed to himself: what a mess he'd got himself into, travelling about with a group of criminals and pirates. His younger self would've despised this future, back when he was supposedly a monk yet that was not the case upon further inspection.

Dark pasts. Such a simple idea, yet when you explore someone else's it becomes a rollercoaster of stories interweaving with each other. Tekhartha knew what he was and what he used to be. He knew his old self would haunt him if he had stayed where he was so in an attempt to free himself from the shackles of his previous life and bad choices, he travelled a lot. His younger-self studied the arts of healing, hence his job on the Falcon's Fury, but his reasons for getting to where he was then was not ones he'd like to repeat or explore. 

His past was a scatter of bad decisions or unethical actions that changed him. He was broken, but would never show it. The young medic paralleled his life to Amélie's. He knew that she was similar to him and that the two had more in common than they'd like to let on. While Amélie's past was misery and loss, Tekhartha's was almost the cause of misery and loss for many people. He wanted- no, needed to get away from his past: his life that torments his nightmares.

But was he ready to face his wrongs?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHA! And the language barrier is solved.
> 
> Also, some dark s h i t 
> 
> #IPlannedThisShitOutSinceChapterOneHaHa
> 
> The descriptions in this got lowkey deep wtf
> 
> I swear i wasn't high


	13. A Broken Ornament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fareeha questions Angela's sudden regain of speech and begins to explore, that is if her legs decide to work again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi so i was going to write another story (lmao i cant even stay consistent with one and im out here thinking "ah yes, let us make another.") and i was lowkey stumped for plot etc so yknow... if you would like to help a brother out, could you contact me on instagram?  
> (Is it a good idea to put my @ on here? no. probably not, but here it is)  
> @whistling.leaves // instagram
> 
> #INeedHelp

There was something odd hanging in the air between Angela and Fareeha. Perhaps it was the damp, salty smell radiating from the blonde's hair or the stench of blood coming from the open wound on Fareeha's foot. A metallic, stinging kind of smell that'd linger in your nostrils but it was so potent and addicting you'd want to just smell it that one last time. The strange odours aside, there was something plaguing the captain's mind.

It was so... queer how Angela had regained her language in a matter of seconds. Two entire languages just popping back into someone's head doesn't seem like a coincidence. While Fareeha wasn't a fan of pressuring the creature as it seemed she had gone through far worse than what any pirate had seen, she was still painfully curious.

"You seem to have remembered speech very quickly," the captain brought up the topic that had been avoiding in the long silence since when they last spoke,

"It seems I have," Angela replied, moving a stray hair behind her ear,

"You don't know why, do you?" Fareeha instantly realised that was too quick and that she should've been slower,

"Nope."

Perhaps it wasn't the worst question as the response was that short.

"Ah."

Fareeha patted her knees to pass the short silence before suddenly springing up and attempting to stand. It must've seemed so strange and sudden to the mermaid but an instinct told the captain that something wasn't quite right and that she should investigate before furthering contact with the creature. Internally, she despised the way she acted as she knew it would make it even more awkward. 

Two people that had started to know each other had basically become strangers again; the one thing in their relationship was how one-sided it was, now that it was gone the two seemed lost. 

"What do you suppose you're doing?" Angela rushed her words, " you're wounded!"

"Ma always told me to walk it off," the pirate replied, not daring to place pressure on her other foot, "you don't suppose you could grab me something... long...? Like a branch?"

"Hm? Oh, sure," Angela scratched the back of her neck for a moment, briefly glancing at her tail and the distance between the closest stick up the beach and her,

"Know what...? Don't worry 'bout it," Fareeha wasn't used to having a non-human companion, "you just go relax in the water."

"Alright...?" Angela stared at the pirate for a moment before obliging and slithering into the crisp-cold waves.

Fareeha glanced down at her foot and formed two fists. One step at a time she hobbled along the beach, tightening her fist as soon as she stepped onto the right foot. She could feel the fluids running down her heel as her wound re-opened itself, hurriedly displacing all those vital liquids onto the golden sands.

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Fareeha grumbled, a wince peeping in her throat.

Angela looked on from the water, peering over the waves with her beady, blue eyes. She hated to watch the captain struggle, part of her wished she could walk next to her, act as a support. Sadly, it wasn't possible in this form.

 _In this form,_ she repeated in her head, _form...?_

The creature rubbed her temples, hoping that would somehow tell her the answers to her problems. Part of her knew she wasn't like the other mermaids she'd encountered, she knew she wasn't special; it was more she didn't feel as though she belonged. Then she glanced to Fareeha. She settled on the conclusion that she felt like her place was with that pirate. While her mind was too scattered to identify in what way she considered herself to be by the pirate's side, she was still close enough to realise that reality.

"How are you doing?" The mermaid called from the water,

"I'm doing fine," Fareeha replied as enthusiastically as possible, "just trying to see what's around,"

"Need a rest?"

The pirate paused internally before stopping physically. She looked down at herself and felt how numb how ankle was and how swollen it looked. She rubbed her forehead and muttered curses to herself before nodding carefully and lowering herself back onto the sand. Angela took this as some sort of invitation to join her and she too moved up onto the beach.

"Wait, Angela," Fareeha grunted as she shifted on the sand, "would you be my eyes? As in, scour the island and try and give me a rough idea of what I'm dealing with,"

"Got it," Angela smiled wearily, she doubted Fareeha was in well enough shape to be left alone but she wouldn't baby this grown woman.

"Thank you," Fareeha flashed her a smile that was so warm that Angela swore she felt her chest flutter. The mermaid disregarded the feelings as a breeze and soon busied herself with searching the island.

She first checked the cove she saw when first dragging the pirate here in the first place. Not much had changed, the place was still this semi-circular dip on the coastline that was surrounded with reasonably steep, stone walls. Nothing was out of the ordinary. She continued along, passing the rows and rows of jungle that would rarely clear into a sand dune. The island itself was rather large, it had this one tall peak that didn't seem to hold any secrets on the first glance. The whole place seemed uninhabited. Soon Angela realised she'd done an entire loop of the island without anything to report back but one anomaly caught her eye.

Within the lines of trees was a plume of smoke billowing from one concentrated area. It was a smoke unseen everywhere else and seemed too thick and dark to be natural. Angela crept up on her stomach up the sand and peered through the lower shrubbery for any signs of people or other creatures. It seemed empty but once she'd managed to ignore the fast pulse of her heartbeat, she heard chatter. The overall drone of noise seemed familiar, the voices she heard was like getting a sudden whiff that'd remind you of your childhood, but for her, it was more remembering people from the last few days.

"The crew..." she muttered under her breath, "of course! They didn't survive that fight and this was the nearest island..."

The creature slithered back into the water, rather excited that she could actually tell Fareeha something instead of just constantly disappointing her.

In a matter of minutes, she was back around the island, crawling up to Fareeha, who was now lying like a starfish and staring up at the stars, and pumping herself up to tell her the news.

"I have returned," Angela smiled to herself once she saw how quickly the captain sat up,

"Any news?" Fareeha seemed genuinely excited,

"Well, I saw the smoke of a fire, I believe," Angela was in utter glee once she saw how much Fareeha's expression lit up, "I'm not entirely sure who or what is there though I suspect it could be your crew, that ship couldn't have survived that fight,"

"I agree," Fareeha grinned, "you genuinely think it's them?"

"I mean, I reckon so," Angela shrugged, "I brought you to the nearest island and with damage like that on the ship, they would've had no chance getting to any others around here,"

"You say that as if you know this area...?" Fareeha furrowed her brows,

"What can I say, I travel," Angela laughed, 

"I can't walk though," Fareeha brought the two back to the original topic, "and if it isn't them, then this isn't going to end well,"

"It's not like you have any other alternatives?" Angela sighed,

"I guess you're right," Fareeha sighed.

The two stared at each other for perhaps a moment too long to be considered appropriate but once they'd broken contact, the hot sand didn't seem to be warming them up too much. Though it was dark now, the sand had been heated up so much in the day that it had retained that heat right into the evening.

Fareeha laid back, splaying out her limbs and adjusting the angle her ankle was at. Finally, there was a glimmer of hope.

* * *

The crew were still tense around each other since that whole Tekhartha thing, but Mako was making sure none of that tension met the young medic. The campfire in front was still burning as men surrounded it and chatted about whatever they could. It seemed everyone had a fear of being along, Tekhartha noticed this by the way Amélie and Lena were glued to each other since they'd all landed there. He even noticed the way Jesse wasn't totally against opening up to people.

The medic looked across to the outskirts of the camp to see a fallen tree being used as a bench. Jesse leaned against the trunk, his arms holding his back up while Hanzo sat next to him, twiddling a spear from a branch. The two seemed to smile a lot, something that was rather unseen from the two of them. Tekhartha smiled to himself, warm from the display of genuine companionship amongst everyone in the camp.

He was about to find a bunk and relax until there was a burning pain at his chest, he clawed at himself for a moment as he fumbled underneath his thin, white tunic. He ripped a necklace he always had around his neck clean off and dropped it on the floor as he began taking skittish steps away from it. He noticed some beady eyes watching him so he quickly collected the necklace by the strings and carried it with him to a bunk.

Tekhartha sat down and held it in front of him. It was a white pendant with a hole in the centre that had intricate images and letters carved onto the material, the thin, carved areas were filled with blue paint giving it this vibrant colour contrast. It seemed odd that as soon as he pulled the thing off, the pain had ceased.

Experimentally, he placed the necklace in his hand and closed it up. A few seconds passed and nothing happened but suddenly the burning returned, worse than last time. It was as if someone where repeatedly stabbing his hand or like a bad case of pins and needles.

"What on earth...?" The medic muttered and grabbed a shirt that had been carelessly tossed on the floor in front, he wrapped the necklace in it and placed it under his hammock. He thought he'd managed to go unseen throughout the whole ordeal but an earth-shaking voice shattered that hope.

"Care to explain?" Mako grumbled in his grave tone that shook the twenty-year-old to his core, "never seen a necklace burn someone,"

"It's um..." Tekhartha scrambled for an explanation, "... sharp,"

"With a smooth shape like that, I highly doubt it," the grey-haired pirate chuckled and took a seat next to the medic, the hammock suddenly drooped extremely low.

Now it was this scrawny, dark-skinned boy sitting next to a beast of a man that was likely three times his weight.

"It was a gift," Tekhartha swallowed hard, "back when I was fourteen, so six years ago, my... father of sorts gave it to me,"

Mako nodded for the medic to continue.

"Ah... so, he told me that it held the secrets to what separated us from animals, don't ask me what he meant as I do not know,"

"I wasn't going to," Mako hummed, "father of sorts, you say?"

"He wasn't my biological father," Tekhartha sighed, "he was like... a mentor... prophet, if you will,"

"He told me all I needed to know," the medic continued, "then the day he gave me this necklace, there was chaos on the island and people said there was an intruder or something,"

"I ran away and hid," he scratched the back of his neck, attempting to remember, "then he sorted the problem and said, _the intruder shall live every day regretting what they did, they won't even remember what it was,_ I still have no idea what he meant. Then this... pendant, he told me that one day this sentence will end..."

"Sentence?" Mako questioned, "why does this father-man talk so cryptically?"

"His name was Mondata, he was so... extraordinary," Tekhartha leaned back and looked up in wonder, "I looked up to him for the way he spoke captivated his people, he would give so little information but that's all you needed so that you could understand later,"

"And do you understand why your necklace is burning you?"

"No."

"Well, he's failed there," Mako sighed, "so, it makes no sense to you?"

"Nope," Tekhartha groaned, "I have no idea what sentence he's talking about,"

"Sorry to break it to you, but neither do I," Mako scratched his silvery stubble,

"I didn't expect you to," the medic smiled fondly.

The two sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the strange, but meaningful friendship the two had. Though Tekhartha knew his past was a mess that only left others confused, the medic quite enjoyed being able to open up to someone who wouldn't judge or understand what the hell he was talking about.

Well, Tekhartha was still not ready for anyone to know what he truly was. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had such a bad headache writing this and i got to 1300 words (right at the POV switch) and honestly contemplated sleeping but i am a good child and knew i had to get this shit out before i cry
> 
> ALSO PSA, no, Mako and Tekhartha are not a ship: I just thought they'd be interesting friends :DDDD
> 
> yay 3 weeks left of school then y'all 'bout to get showered with chapters (I hope???????)
> 
> okay but grammarly was being an ass and red-lining every fuckin word though it was right but then after re-reading parts it hadnt underlined obvious spelling mistakes skkskia welkjsdgouig


	14. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fareeha finds her was back to familiarity and a mystery becomes solved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao re-read the previous chapter to know what the fuck was going on and i saw i said i'd shower y'all in chapters through summer
> 
> that didn't happen
> 
> im sorry
> 
> i go back to school on wednesday :,)
> 
> back to my media course and my english teacher who has high hopes for me (im shit at writing essays so she better think again)

Maybe she'd fallen into the sea, or she was dragged, whatever the reality, Fareeha was sure she felt her lungs burning for air. As her eyes opened she was greeted with the vast expanse of ocean stretching in front of her, beams of light cascading down into the abyss and getting caught into the black-hole of the ocean. Fareeha looked around in the water, suddenly feeling as though she didn't need to breathe, and once she'd looked down all she saw were two eyes. Green in colour, fury coating the pupil. The captain tried to swim up yet she was getting nowhere.

She was stuck in her own madness.

"What in God's name was that?" Fareeha sat up so quickly she almost folded forward,

"OH, Christ you're awake!" Angela, similarly to a skittish cat, scrambled into the water, her chest heaving,

"Were you...?"

"Watching you sleep?! Never!" The mermaid laughed, her eyes darting to anywhere but the captain,

"I... I was dreaming..."

"So that's why you were mumbling in your sleep!" Angela's nervous laugh struck again, her face now reaching an unnatural shade of red, "but uh... what about?"

"The ocean."

"Descriptive."

"No, I mean... I was in the ocean," Fareeha leaned back on her palms, "then I saw something, two eyes, two _green_ eyes,"

"Did you see where they were from?"

"No... it was too dark," Fareeha huffed,

"Well..." Angela's eyes darted away for a moment, "it was only a dream, so,"

"I know, but you know what people say..."

"No, I genuinely do not,"

"Oh, well, many people believe your dreams have meanings."

"I dream sometimes..." Angela sighed,

"About?"

Fareeha could swear she saw Angela's face darken.

"Fish things..." The mermaid tapped her fingers on the sand,

"Right.. right..." Fareeha nodded to herself,

"Anyway!" The mermaid exclaimed, "we need to go check out that crew,"

"You're right, again, but how?"

"That's what I've been scheming," Angela begun, "I'd just drag you,"

"And risk you doing this to my ankle again?"

"Hey, cut me some slack, you're heavy in water,"

"Mhm hm..." Fareeha rolled her eyes,

"Give me a chance? It's not often I get to drag someone by their ankles when it's not to kill them," Angela grinned with an emotion that Fareeha couldn't place, was it mischief or genuine disregard for what she just said,

"Fine..." Fareeha huffed, "but what do I say? Hey look, it's me, you're old captain,"

"Exactly," Angela wasted no time in grabbing the captain's left ankle and hauling her into the water,

"Angela I didn't say g-" Fareeha was engulfed by the tidal waves and soon found herself amongst small, tropical looking fishes.

The captain watched Angela's tail flail hard in an attempt to thrust both of them through the water and she wished she could help somehow. Fareeha basked in the warm beams cutting through the water and watched schools of fish dance along the sand and coral like a scripted scene. It was beautiful really, though most fish were blurry blobs for the captain's human eyes, it was still nice to watch the warm colours break the blue background.

Soon enough, Angela stopped and tossed the captain out of the water. Like before there was the chimney of smoke billowing from the line of trees and Fareeha scuttled to her feet, once again becoming mindful of her ankle. She glanced to the waters, unable to see the mermaid, then back up the the trees. With a triumphant nod, she began taking one step at a time.

Plodding up the beach with many intervals and moments to breath, the captain regained her confidence and was sure that whatever was behind these trees would be better than a life stuck on the sand. Though, once she thought about it, she realised if she were stuck with Angela it wouldn't have been so bad. She quickly shook those thoughts off once she stumbled into a clearing.

In front of her were dozens of people which after a few seconds of analising Fareeha realised was her crew,

"Greetings!" She waved, unsure of any other way to make herself obvious.

The whole clearing fell silent and all eyes were on the captain, a volley of clinks from tankards being dropped came from different corners and all were too frozen to speak. That was until Reinhardt's voice cut through the crowd.

"I knew you were unkillable."

The huge man staggered forward in disbelief and placed a large paw on the woman's shoulders.

"Welcome back, Captain Amari," his smile was contagious and soon Fareeha found herself overwhelmed with joy as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the man.

"God, I'd hate to be your assassin, I'd never get the job done!" Jesse's smile was almost audible as he stepped forward from the crew,

"Good to see you too," Fareeha laughed, unwrapping herself from Reinhardt,

"C'mere," Jesse snorted, grabbing the captain in a brotherly embrace.

Fareeha's laughs soon died out and once she looked up from her and Jesse's hug, she saw a man she hadn't seen in a while.

"Good afternoon, Captain," the voice's accent was thick and unmistakable,

"Genji... you... you look better," Fareeha stepped forward, away from Jesse,

"Ah... I suppose," his eyes glanced up for a moment, behind Fareeha, yet there was something behind them that unsettled the captain, "I'm still recovering."

"I see, Tekhartha did a good job though, you seem comfortable on your new leg" Fareeha gulped,

"Yes, he did," Genji barely opened his mouth and uttered under his breath, "I would feel more comfortable if there weren't a traitor amoung us."

Fareeha's blood ran cold, she'd almost forgotten about the whole ordeal.

"But... I'm sure Reinhardt would like to tell you all about that," Genji smirked,

"What...?" Fareeha blinked,

"Why don't you, Reinhardt?" The two turned to look at the old man,

"Fareeha I..." the old man mumbled,

"You did this?" The captain stared in disbelief, "to your own crewmate?"

There was something alarming in Reinhardt's eyes as if he were trying to say something but his tongue was tied, "I had to,"

"And why was that?" Fareeha cocked her head to the side,

"I don't want to get anyone in trouble," the old man croaked,

"Yet you seem to be the only one in that position right now," Fareeha glanced under her eyelashes,

"Genji... I saw what you were doing..." Reinhardt gulped,

There was silence for a moment and in the corner of her eye, Fareeha saw how pale the other man had become.

"I didn't want to do this, Genji," Reinhardt mumbled,

"Wait-" Genji's eyes widened,

"Genji wanted to kill the mermaid," Reinhardt stared into Fareeha's eyes to eliminate the idea that he was lying, "you saw how curious he was, he knew those scales and organs would sell for a lot, hence why the mermaid was out the tank that day you found her."

Fareeha was looking forward, torn with feelings. If she reacted to emotionally, people would realise her caring for the creature yet if she left all unsaid then Genji could do the same again.

"I tried to protect the mermaid," Reinhardt continued,

"She could protect herself," Fareeha's mind was at a loss for responses yet every word she uttered felt like a wound as she was tearing down her own crewmembers,

"Aren't you going to do something to him?" Genji pointed to Reinhardt, urging the captain's response,

"I want both of you to stay away from each other-"

"What? That's hardly a punishment! He cut off my leg for god's sake!"

"We are all stuck on an island, scrambling to survive and I have been here for five god damn minutes yet I still get plunged into this childish game of who did what. From what it looks like, we're running out of supplies, I can't walk for too long and the mermaid can fucking speak: let me have a break!" Fareeha yelled and as soon as the words left her mouth she wished she'd stayed with Angela on the other side of the island,

"The mermaid can spe-"

"Shut it!" Fareeha barked, her fists clenched at her sides.

Similarly, to her entrance, the entire camp was in silence as the captain stormed over to an ownerless hammock where she sat and sunk down. It wasn't quite the same as yelling at someone and then slamming her office door, yet this was all they had. Just a small camp with little supplies and low morale.

This was their home.

* * *

Long after the mystery had been settled, camp activity had gone back to normal but with Fareeha as captain again. People had begun to chat around the campfire and songs were being sung by drunken sailors who had no faith in getting off the island, what a way to go: getting drunk on an island and singing to your death. Soon, the drunks were crashing on hammocks one-by-one and the night was becoming quiet. As the clearing descended into tranquillity, the young medic finally found time to visit the captain for the first time in a while.

"It's been quite the day," Tekhartha took a seat next to the captain, also succumbing to the sudden sink,

"It sure has," Fareeha sipped her beverage from the tankard, "want some?"

"What is it? Water?"

"Wine."

"A whole tankard of wine?"

"Like you said, quite the day," Fareeha sighed, placing the tankard down,

"Where is that mermaid of yours? You said she could speak?" The young medic's eyes glinted with curiosity.

"I knew someone would ask about it sooner or later..."

"It's quite the thing to say to eager listeners," Tekhartha glanced at the captain, "am I mistaken? Can she not speak?"

"No, no. You're right, she can. Just woke up one morning and boom, she was speakin'" Fareeha gestured broadly, obviously an effect of the alcohol but her mind didn't seem muddled, "her name's Angela,"

"That's scarily human," Tekhartha laughed, "did she say she could always speak?"

"No, she didn't know why she suddenly remembered it," Fareeha sighed, rubbing her temples, "baffles me..."

"Mhm... there was something rather queer about her..." Tekhartha thought to himself.

"Yep..." Fareeha looked to the medic yet her eyes flashed at his chest for a moment as her eyes drew to a dark spot that seemed to scar, "what's that?"

"Hm? Oh!" Tekhartha looked to where the captain was staring and soon he realised what she'd noticed, "it appeared this morning, maybe an allergic reaction?" He laughed nervously,

"Mhmmm," Fareeha nodded to herself and lay back, "where's that necklace of yours? D'you lose it on the way here?"

"Why, you're observant," Tekhartha chuckled and stood up, allowing the captain space to sleep, "yes, I did lose it."

While he was very aware that he was lying to his own captain, he felt hiding the truth of its whereabouts was a safer option.

The medic stood over the captain for a moment, waiting for her to fall asleep before he moved back to his bunk and felt underneath the hammock for the familiar feeling of that shirt. Something was wrong, however. He couldn't feel the shirt.

The medic got down onto his hands and knees and scanned underneath, mumbling incoherently to himself.

"What're you looking for?" A deep, rumbling voice that shook the medic to his core came from behind him, making him jump,

"Oh!" He spun around and stood up, "Mako...! Hi... you haven't seen my shirt anywhere... have you?"

"Nope."

There was a brief pocket of silence.

"Unless it's that white one, then it's over there," Mako pointed to a white shirt that was being used by Jamison to fan the fire, yet it would occasionally catch light and the sailor would frantically blow and stamp on it, "He wouldn't have taken the necklace with him, if that's what you're looking for."

Tekhartha gulped and stammered for the right words to say, "Do you know where my necklace is...?"

"Nope, but I can definitely tell you who hasn't got it," Mako glanced down to the darker man, "this entire crew but Jesse, Brigitte and Hana,"

"How do you know for sure?"

"I observe," Mako grumbled, "those three are the only people who have been here today,"

"Thank you, Mako," Tekhartha smiled to the grey-haired man,

"Don't mention, just keep patching us up," he even flashed a small but slightly visible smile.

Tekhartha couldn't dwell too much, he had to find that necklace.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BY THE WAY, "queer" in this chapter is used as "weird" and not a derogatory term (but... Angela is queer for fareeha :> )
> 
> the only way i got through this chapter was with lemonade and a l c o h o l at 1am
> 
> sorry if this chapter is a whole load of fucked up, im tired and dialogue wasnt flowing because i couldn't even read the words properly ;)

**Author's Note:**

> this box of notes wont go away ;(


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